Signal named top private messaging app in ZDNet's 2026 roundup

ZDNet's 2026 guide to private messaging apps names Signal as the best option, highlighting its end-to-end encryption, clear trust verification tools and a nonprofit model that avoids ads, trackers and data‑monetization incentives. The review notes Signal uses the open‑source Signal Protocol for messages, calls and stickers, and provides per‑chat safety numbers that change when a contact switches devices.

Backup options include encrypted cloud backups protected by a long recovery key, local encrypted backups on Android, and device‑to‑device transfers; the reviewer warns that losing a recovery key or passphrase can make data unrecoverable. Other top picks include Threema, a Swiss paid app (about 12 million users) that assigns random Threema IDs so no phone number or email is required and deletes texts from servers after delivery; Session, which routes messages through onion requests to reduce metadata and hide IP addresses but uses peer‑to‑peer calls in beta that can expose IPs; and WhatsApp and Telegram, which the guide positions as practical choices at large scale with different privacy trade‑offs.

The review calls out specifics: WhatsApp (owned by Meta) offers end‑to‑end encryption for personal chats, Advanced Chat Privacy introduced in April 2025 to limit exports and AI use in sensitive chats, and features like Chat Lock and disappearing messages.

Key Topics

Tech, Signal, Threema, Session, Whatsapp, Telegram