As described above, Apple and Google have made E2EE more widespread than ever, but their limitations mean that some of your messages aren’t encrypted. But you have other ways to make sure your texts are secure.
Use Signal or WhatsApp. Not every messaging app that claims to be secure actually is. Facebook Messenger doesn’t encrypt messages end-to-end unless you enable that option. Similarly, Telegram uses E2EE only in certain situations. We don’t recommend either of them. Many of the experts we spoke to recommended Signal or WhatsApp, both of which are free messaging apps available on most devices. Both apps encrypt their messages end-to-end using the same proven technology, the open-source Signal protocol. Signal is from a nonprofit, while WhatsApp is owned by Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram (but Meta can’t view the content of your messages).
In addition to secure texting, both Signal and WhatsApp do everything you might expect a messaging app to do, from wrangling group chats to facilitating video calls. By default, Signal does not back up your message data. That keeps your messages out of backups, but it also means you have to migrate your Signal messages from an old phone to a new one if you want to keep your full message history as you upgrade your device. WhatsApp has its own secure backup mechanism; you need to activate it from within the app.
There’s one downside: You can use Signal to send messages only to other Signal users, and only WhatsApp users can receive messages from other WhatsApp users. These apps also cannot send normal text messages, so you still need to use a separate app to communicate with people who don’t use Signal or WhatsApp.
Learn to tell when your messages are encrypted. If you use an iPhone, any message that appears in a blue bubble is encrypted end-to-end. On Android devices with Google’s Messenger app, look for a lock icon on the send button or under sent messages. If your messages aren’t encrypted, consider using a different app to chat.
Use self-deleting messages. Messages stored on your phone could be read or stolen, so consider setting your device to automatically delete older messages.
On iPhones, go to Settings > Apps > Messages > Message History to select how long messages stay on your phone. We were unable to find a similar feature in Google Messages. Signal and WhatsApp each let you set different timelines for message storage overall or by conversation. You can also set individual messages to be read only once before being deleted.
Keep your phone up-to-date. The messages on your phone are only as safe as your phone is. Be sure to install security updates and enable anti-theft features for your iPhone or Android device to keep thieves locked out.
The face and fingerprint scanners that quickly log you in to a device can sometimes be tricked, so learn how to temporarily disable them. On an iPhone, press and hold the volume-up and lock buttons. When the option to power off the phone appears, press the lock button again or tap Cancel. On Pixel phones, press the lock and volume-up keys and then tap Lockdown.
