Comparison
"Most private" is not one ranking — it's a trade-off between encryption, what you have to hand over to sign up, how much metadata the service sees, and how usable the thing is. This comparison rates each app on those axes and gives a verdict per use case.
*Telegram's default cloud chats are not end-to-end encrypted; only secret chats are.
Verdict: the safest default for most people. The Signal protocol is the most reviewed in the world, encryption is on for everything including calls, and the metadata collected is minimal. The trade-offs are a phone number requirement and a centralised service. If a phone number is acceptable in your threat model, use Signal.
Verdict: encrypted, but not private. The messages are E2EE, but the app requires a phone number and shares extensive metadata with its parent company. It's here because "everyone is already on it" is a real argument — but it should not be your private option.
Verdict: a publishing platform, not a private messenger. Default chats live on Telegram's servers unencrypted. Secret chats are E2EE but limited. Great for channels and big communities; poor as a private conversation tool.
Verdict: the best "Signal without a phone number" for most people. No phone or email, E2EE by default, and traffic routed through an onion network so your IP isn't directly exposed. The costs: account recovery depends on your recovery phrase, and the node network adds some latency.
Verdict: maximum anonymity, with a usability tax. No identifiers at all — you connect by invite link or QR code. If you never want to be findable by a name, this is it. Group management and multi-device use are less polished than the alternatives.
Verdict: the best choice if you want to run the infrastructure yourself. Federated protocol, and you can self-host a server so no third party holds your data. Encryption must be enabled per room, and metadata visibility depends on the server you use.
Verdict: a solid paid option. Random ID instead of a phone number, Swiss jurisdiction, E2EE by default. It costs a few dollars — which is arguably a feature, not a bug.
Verdict: our pick, with disclosure. Markero is our project, so verify rather than trust: username + password signup (no phone, no email), messages and files encrypted on-device with PGP Curve25519, optional TOTP MFA, recovery codes, and no contact upload or ad tracking. Voice calls, one-to-one video calls and group calls for up to six use WebRTC with per-user TURN credentials; calls are not available over Tor. It runs in the browser and as an Android app.
How to choose in 30 seconds: phone number acceptable → Signal. No phone number → Session or Markero. No identifier at all → SimpleX. Self-hosted → Element.
Yes, if you care about metadata. Your chats may be encrypted, but the social graph, timings and usage patterns are not private. Move the conversations that matter first.
Trust should come from verifiability, not price. Prefer published privacy policies, clear security documentation, and minimal data collection. Free services can still be honest — but support them if you rely on them.
Absolutely. Most privacy-conscious users keep one "everyone is here" app and one genuinely private app for sensitive conversations.
End-to-end encrypted, optional TOTP MFA, no phone number or email.
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