A Practical Guide to More Private Conversations

This can help prevent unauthorized parties from reading the contents while the communication is being transmitted.

However, encryption should not be confused with complete anonymity.

There can be information surrounding a communication, known as metadata. The Electronic Frontier Foundation explains that metadata can reveal details about communications even when the actual content is protected. (Electronic Frontier Foundation)

This means that people comparing messaging applications should look at the wider privacy model rather than focusing on encryption alone.

Hide Notification Features Can Be Useful

A messaging application's privacy features do not matter much if private information is openly displayed on a phone's lock screen.

Consider a simple example.

Someone sends you a personal message while your phone is sitting on a table. Your screen lights up and displays the sender's name along with the entire message.

Anyone nearby may be able to read it.

This is why the ability to hide notification details can be useful.

Depending on the phone and messaging service, users may have the option to:

• Hide message previews
• Show only the application name
• Show the sender without the message
• Disable lock-screen previews
• Mute particular conversations