Best Secure Messaging App

Brief explanation so were all on the same page.

Every day in our modern society people communicate using written language. They do this by sending text messages or using different apps. Sadly not all ways of sending a message electronically are created equal when it comes to security. Some forms are messaging fairly secure, others store your meta data and a few let outside parties view your message in real time and stop its delivery if it’s context upsets the outside party snooping on your conversation. Any of these records can be subpoenaed and entered into evidence in civil and criminal court cases. At Protect Yourself From Crime we believe that you have enough to worry about without wonder if your private messages will be read out-loud in a court of law.

How Secure is regular old Text Messages.

Regular Text Messages are not encrypted which means phone carriers store the contents of these messages for various amounts of time. For a longer period of time cell phone carriers will keep the Meta Data on your unsecured text message. This data doesn’t show your exact conversation. But it might show your location, who you were talking to, what kind of device you were talking to them on. How long you talked to that particular person, how often you talked to someone as well. Also how big and what kind of attachments you might have sent back and forth to each other. This information has been subpoenaed and has shown up in civil and criminal courts trials.

The government and a few high tech criminals have used something called a StingRay to intercept your unsecured text messages. The Government has also been shown to own devices called Stingrays. They are a device about the size of an internet router, they have all different types of antennas on them. They trick your phone into thinking that they are the cell phone tower by having a more powerful signal in a certain area. So your cell phone connects to the Stingray, the device then makes a copy of all your phone activity during that time period and forwards your request onto your actual cell phone carrier. The government has the ability to then store your information for eternity and bring it up at a later date if it helps their needs. Some criminals have used this stolen information to steal your identity. The government might set up a StingRay device to track who is around different government buildings or stop cell phone traffic for security reasons. At the end of the day you don’t want the government putting your name into a database somewhere for something, it just makes your life more difficult.

So let’s review all the ways an unencrypted messaging app can be a problem. First your cell phone carrier keeps records about your texting history and these records can be subpoenaed for use in open court. The government can also collect your information out in public by just walking by a public area that has a Stingray in use. Criminals can also intercept your text messages and use the information to commit crimes. Overall your going to have a bad day.

How Secure is iMessage.

If you use an iPhone then you are familiar with iMessage. It allows Apple users to be able to send messages to each other in an improved method as compared to regular SMS Text Messages. iMessages are End To End Encrypted by default. The end to end encryption does not apply when you are texting with non Apple users. Another issue is that while the messages are End To End Encrypted, if you back up your iPhone to the cloud, that backup copy of your texts is no longer encrypted. I would recommend using the cloud to only back up your phones contacts. It is a safer practice to physically connect your iPhone to a computer with your copy of iTunes on it and make an encrypted backup of your phone on your computer. It’s a little more work but in the long run it lets you have more control over data. The best part about iMessage is that it comes standard of many Apple products, so you don’t have to convince anyone to download some app to talk to you.

Addressing an issue from here on down.

Since you clicked on this article I can assume you are a person that cares about your digital security. That is a great thing and you are ahead of the curve. But let’s say you want to communicate with your wife, or Grandma or friend. The more impractical the secure messaging app is the less likely it is that they will do it a lare percentage of the time. So from this point on we will only be talking about apps with a low berdon of entry.

Facebook Messenger

The biggest positive when it comes to Facebook Messenger, is that fact that most people already have it and are familiar with how to use it. It does have the ability to be end to end encrypted, but sadly it does not do this by default. You have to remember to do it if you want privacy. The other issue is that it is closed source and they are known to be good friends with law government agencies. It to use the app you have to have a Facebook Account and then whoever you are talking to knowns many private details about you. This might not be a big deal, but it’s an issue you don’t want to have if there is a better option out there.

Whats App

Whats App biggest issue is that they are run by the same company that runs Facebook and they don’t have the greatest history of respecting privacy. Whats App does not require you to have a Facebook Account, only a phone number. All communications on Whats App do have End To End Encryption turned on by default, which is better than Facebook Messenger. The other issue with Whats App is that you can’t view the code that runs the app. Meaning you have no idea how the sausage is made and you just have to take their word that there isn’t any rat meat in it. Meaning that you have to trust their end to end encryption is being done correctly, or that they aren’t collect data on you without your knowledge.

(3). Freeze Your Credit Report.

Under US law people are allowed to contact these credit reporting bureaus and tell them to Freeze their credit reports. This service comes with legal protections and must be offered to everyone free of charge. But what does this mean and how can it help people protect themselves from becoming a victim of identity theft? It tells the Credit Reporting Bureaus that you won’t be needing any new forms of credit any time soon. You are still able to use all the already approved lines of credit, but no new requests for information will be processed. Just imagine the credit reporting bureaus putting your credit reporting file in a deep freezer in the back room. Criminals like starting new lines of credit for you because it’s harder for you to find out about them. If a criminal gets ahold of your important information and applies for credit in your name the company that is approving the loan will request your credit report. The Credit Reporting Bureaus won’t give them your credit file because its frozen. Therefor the company considering the new loan won’t approve it. Therefor the criminal won’t get their fancy new toy and your day wont be ruined. This is great, but there is a few downsides. If you need to apply for credit then this is something that must be planned out ahead of time. Because it will take you at least a few days to unfreeze your credit reports. Some agencies allow you to temporally unfreeze your account for a specify time period or allow one company to inquire about your credit. Unfortunately some companies might require that you call back their office to double check that it is you. I recommend that you review your credit history before you call the agency up. They are going to ask you random questions about your credit history to verify it is you. Such as companies that you have had credit cards with or addresses you have had PG&E accounts at. I had my personal credit report locked and it took me about an afternoon to unlock it so I could get approved for a new line of credit. So you just have to plan out how you use credit a little bit more. Which isn’t always a bad thing. It goes without saying but I would recommend that you get at least one credit card with some nice card benefits. Because you want to lock your report and keep it locked. Only opening it up every few years for important purchases like a house or a new car. You don’t want to constantly be closing and opening your credit report. The upside to locking your credit is that you will stop getting as many pre approved credit cards in the mail. If you’re a person who struggles with constantly signing up for every store credit card you cross paths with this might be a positive restraint for you. The credit reporting bureaus are also a great place to shop for credit cards that might offer better terms than the ones your getting in the junk mail everyday.

(4). Lock Your Credit Report.

These Credit Bureaus offer a service that is called a Credit Lock. Just like a lock this allows you to open up your credit bureaus report use it and then re-lock it after your done. The different credit bureaus will charge you a fee for this service. Credit locks do not come with any legal protection, unlike credit freezes. But if you’re the type of person that is constantly applying for new credit cards or car loans I would recommend this service for you. It defiantly will give you more protection than walking around with an open regular credit report.

Our Recomendation

Identity theft is a growing issue around the world. This is why we chose to do it as one of our first articles on our new website. I would recommend that you get a copy of your credit report every year on your birthday. Most people only find out that their identity has been stolen when it is years later and they get turned down for a job or they are turned dow for a loan. Be proactive, it will save you allot of time and embarrassment in the future. Overall learning to mastering the double edge sword that is the modern credit service industry is an important part of becoming an adult.

A decent amount of credit cards now come with a credit monitoring service option or a way of getting a copy of your credit report through them. If this looks like something that would help you to better monitor your credit history than you should sign up for it.

When it comes to Credit Freezes and Credit Locks, I would honestly look at your life and decide which is more useful to you. Credit Freezes are great, they provide you legal protection, they can be set and left for years, and best of all they are free. I recently froze my persoal account, unfroze it to buy a house and then refroze the account without issue. I really enjoyed the fact that certain of the bureaus allowed me to open it up just for my morgage company or for a set amount of time. The down side was that after it was locked my wife decided we needed solar on the new house. We met with several solar brokers, but when we found one that we liked I couldn’t fill out the paperwork that afternoon. So I had to unfreeze my credit and go back into their offices again to sign the paperwork. If your the kind of person who is younger or maybe for whatever reason has frequent suprises in their life that require you to sign up for new forms of credit, a credit lock might be a better option for you. Again I’m not judging, were all adults here, I’m just explaning your options. If the tire popped on your car on your way home from work today and you needed to sign up for a 0% credit card through the tire shop to get to work the next day. A credit lock could be quickly unlocked and relocked. The credit freeze would take you additional time, that might be incovient for you. The credit lock does cost you a fee, I’m not going to quote you an amount here in this article because it can change & I don’t want to give you outdated info. So sign up for whatever service works best for you.

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