Signal

Signal lets you text, call, and share files with one guarantee: your conversations are private. Every message is encrypted before it leaves your phone. Signal cannot read your messages. Your phone company cannot read them. Nobody can.

The app is run by a nonprofit foundation, not a tech company chasing ad revenue. There are no ads, no trackers, and no data mining. Signal makes money through donations only, so it has zero incentive to collect or sell your data. The entire codebase is published openly so anyone can verify these claims.

You get text messaging, voice calls, video calls, group chats (up to 1,000 members), and file sharing. Disappearing messages let you set a timer so conversations delete after a period you choose. The app works on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Worth knowing

Signal requires a phone number to sign up. You cannot create an account with just an email address. Because messages are stored only on your device, switching phones means you need to manually transfer your chat history. Video calls can be choppy, especially in groups. And while Signal is US-based, the nonprofit structure and minimal data collection mean there is very little for any government to request even with a court order.