As someone working in or looking for employment in the cleared defense industry, you may be aware of the risks of having your private data exposed or sold by third-party companies. Your personal information, such as your name, address, phone number, email, social media accounts, and even your biometric data, could be collected and sold by data brokers, advertisers, hackers, or even foreign adversaries. This could compromise your security clearance, identity, reputation, and safety.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll dive in on choosing the best privacy-related applications for your needs. I will cover different types of apps that can help you communicate, browse, pay, and store data securely and privately. I will also compare the pros and cons of different apps and give you some tips on using them effectively. These apps are not meant to stand alone but combined to create protection in depth, similar to how you build protection for a military outpost. In other words, the more layers of security and privacy you have, the better.
First on the list, let’s take a look at encrypted messaging apps. These apps allow you to send and receive text messages, voice messages, photos, videos, files, and other types of data securely and privately. Unlike regular text messaging or SMS, which can be easily intercepted or accessed by your phone provider or other parties, encrypted messaging apps use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to protect your data. E2EE means only you and the intended recipient can decrypt and read the messages. No one else, not the app provider or the government, can access or tamper with your data.
Many encrypted messaging apps are available on the market, but not all are equally secure or reliable. Some may have weak encryption algorithms, some may collect metadata (such as who you talk to, when, and where), some may have backdoors or vulnerabilities that could expose your data, and some may be owned or influenced by companies or countries that do not respect your privacy rights.
To help you choose the best-encrypted messaging app, I have reviewed six popular apps, evaluating them based on their security features, privacy policies, usability, functionality, and compatibility.
Signal is widely regarded as one of the most secure and trustworthy encrypted messaging apps. It uses a robust E2EE protocol that is open-source and regularly audited. It does not collect any metadata or personal information from its users. It also offers features such as disappearing messages, screen security, relay calls, group chats, voice and video calls, file sharing, stickers, and more. Signal is free and nonprofit. It is available for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The only downside of Signal is that it requires a phone number to register and verify your account.
MySudo is an all-in-one privacy app that lets you create multiple digital profiles called Sudos. Each Sudo has its own phone number (US only), email address (Sudo-to-Sudo encrypted), handle (Sudo-to-Sudo encrypted), web browser (ad-free and tracker-free), and virtual payment card (US only). You can use your Sudo details instead of your personal information to communicate and pay online. MySudo uses E2EE for Sudo-to-Sudo communications but allows you to communicate using the app with any other phone numbers or email addresses without E2EE. It does not collect any personal information or metadata from its users. It also offers features such as group chats (up to 500 members), voice and video calls (up to 70 participants), file sharing (up to 5 GB), location sharing, message expiration settings (up to 1 year), burn-on-read timer, federation (communicate with Wickr Me or Pro users outside of your network or organization),  administrative controls, SSO and MDM integration, onboarding and 24/7 support, and data retention for compliance purposes. MySudo is not free; it offers different monthly subscription plans starting from $0.99. MySudo has been available for iOS since its creation and recently released an Android version.
Session is an encrypted messaging app that minimizes sensitive metadata using a decentralized server network connected to a global routing network. It does not require any personal information or phone number to create an account; instead, it uses a unique session ID that can be shared with others. It also offers features such as group chats (up to 500 members), voice messages, attachments, friends list, and open-source code. Session is free and nonprofit. It is available for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The main drawbacks of Session are that it does not yet support voice or video calls, is not widely used, and can be challenging to share your user information with other users.
Wickr is another encrypted messaging app that uses E2EE for all communications. In its original form, it did not collect any personal information or metadata from its users. It also offers features such as group chats (up to 500 members), voice and video calls (up to 70 participants), broadcasting/live streaming (up to 500), screen sharing, file sharing (up to 5 GB), location sharing, message expiration settings (up to 1 year), burn-on-read timer, federation (communicate with Wickr Me or Pro users outside of your network or organization), administrative controls, SSO and MDM integration, onboarding and 24/7 support, and data retention for compliance purposes. Wickr is not free; it offers different monthly subscription plans starting from $0.99. It is available for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It is important to note that Wickr was purchased by Amazon a few years ago, which added the cost and may impact how your data is used.
Wire is a secure collaboration platform that uses E2EE for all communications. It does not collect any personal information or metadata from its users. It also offers features such as group chats (up to 500 members), voice and video calls (up to 70 participants), screen sharing, file sharing (up to 5 GB), location sharing, message expiration settings (up to 1 year), burn-on-read timer, federation (communicate with Wickr Me or Pro users outside of your network or organization), administrative controls, SSO and MDM integration, onboarding and 24/7 support, and data retention for compliance purposes. Wire is not free; it offers monthly subscription plans starting from $0.99. It is available for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging app, with over two billion users. It uses the same E2EE protocol as Signal, meaning your messages are secure from end to end. It also offers features such as group chats, voice and video calls, file sharing, stickers, and more. WhatsApp is free and easy to use. It is available for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OS X, and web browsers. However, WhatsApp has significant privacy issues, making it a risky choice for cleared contractors. First, WhatsApp is owned by Meta (formerly Facebook), notorious for collecting and selling user data for advertising purposes. Second, WhatsApp requires a phone number to register and verify your account, which can be used to link your identity and activity across different platforms. Third, WhatsApp collects user metadata, such as who you talk to, when, where, how often, and for how long. This metadata can be accessed by Meta or by law enforcement agencies with a warrant or a subpoena. Fourth, WhatsApp offers no message expiration settings or burn-on-read timer, meaning your messages can be stored indefinitely on your device or the cloud backup service. Fifth, WhatsApp does not support federation with other encrypted messaging apps, meaning you can only communicate with other WhatsApp users.
As you can see, many encrypted messaging apps can help you protect your private data as a cleared contractor. However, not all of them are equally secure or reliable. You should carefully evaluate each app’s security features, privacy policies, usability, functionality, and compatibility before choosing the one that suits your needs. Next up on the privacy-related app: virtual private networks.
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