Is it safe
Signal and WhatsApp end-to-end encrypt personal chats, group chats and calls by default. Telegram does so for calls and for Secret Chats, which are one-to-one. Discord end-to-end encrypts voice and video, and not text messages. End-to-end encryption means only the people in a chat can read it: the server in the middle passes along scrambled data.
Checked on 21 October 2026. Facts about other apps link to each company's own pages.
Signal and WhatsApp end-to-end encrypt one-to-one messages, group chats and calls by default. Telegram end-to-end encrypts calls and Secret Chats, and protects its regular chats and group chats with server-client encryption.
| App | One-to-one messages | Group chats | Voice and video calls | Who runs the servers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | End-to-end encrypted | End-to-end encrypted | Signal has no access to calls | Signal, a nonprofit |
| End-to-end encrypted | End-to-end encrypted | End-to-end encrypted | WhatsApp, owned by Meta | |
| Telegram | Server-client encrypted; Secret Chats end-to-end | Server-client encrypted | End-to-end encrypted | Telegram, in data centers around the globe |
| Discord | Not end-to-end encrypted | Not end-to-end encrypted | End-to-end encrypted | Discord |
| Socketchat | End-to-end encrypted | End-to-end encrypted | Text chat, with files, photos and videos | You, or a friend |
Checked on 21 October 2026. Each cell links to the company's own page.
Server-client encryption protects a message on its way between your app and the company's servers. End-to-end encryption protects it the whole way, so only the people in the chat can read it.
For message encryption by default, WhatsApp goes further. Its encryption white paper says it end-to-end encrypts all messages, voice calls and video calls between users, while Telegram does that for messages only in Secret Chats.
Telegram sees it differently: its FAQ says "Telegram is more secure than mass market messengers like WhatsApp and Line." Telegram stores regular chats encrypted in its cloud, with decryption keys split into parts kept apart from the data, so they sync across your devices. Is Telegram safe to use? and Is WhatsApp safe to use? go into each one.
Yes. By the measures on this page, Signal is the strongest of the four. It uses state-of-the-art end-to-end encryption for messages and group chats, and it added post-quantum protection in September 2023.
Signal is end-to-end encrypted by default, so Signal encrypted group chats need no setting. When Signal has answered legal requests, its published responses say it could provide only the date an account registered and the last date it connected, and that it does not have access to messages, calls, profile information or group information. For most people, Signal is safe to use.
Partly. Discord's privacy policy says all information sent within its services is encrypted in transit and at rest, and that voice and video communications are designed to be end-to-end encrypted. Text messages are not end-to-end encrypted.
Discord's September 2024 announcement of end-to-end encryption for audio and video says text messages continue to follow its content moderation approach and are not end-to-end encrypted.
Socketchat is end-to-end encrypted group chat in the terminal, for a small group that runs its own server. Rooms and direct messages are encrypted with the MLS standard, and the server sees room rosters, timing and IP addresses, never message contents. Is Socketchat safe? covers the details.
More questions
For everyday chat, Discord encrypts information in transit and at rest and end-to-end encrypts voice and video. It stores the text messages you send and checks content against its rules, according to its privacy policy.
Discord collects and stores the messages you send, and its privacy policy says it proactively scans attachments and other content for illegal or harmful activity. Text messages are not end-to-end encrypted, so Discord's systems can process them.
Signal's encryption protocol is open source, and its responses to legal requests show it could hand over only when an account registered and when it last connected. Signal says it does not have access to messages, calls, profile information or group information.
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/sachio222/socketchat_v4/releases/latest/download/socketchat-installer.sh | shpowershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -c "irm https://github.com/sachio222/socketchat_v4/releases/latest/download/socketchat-installer.ps1 | iex"brew install sachio222/tap/socketchatOpen a new terminal when it finishes.
Then start a server with socketchat server init --host chat.example.com and socketchat server run, and open port 7444. Quick start on the home page.
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