Signal
A private messenger run by a nonprofit, with end-to-end encryption by default.
Instead of WhatsApp
Screenshot from signal.org, taken 2026-10-23, shown to help you recognise the tool. It belongs to its maker. Ask us to remove it.
Signal is run by an independent nonprofit that lives on grants and donations, not advertising. Messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted with the open-source Signal Protocol, and the organisation says it cannot read or listen to them. It works on phones and on Windows, Mac and Linux desktops, and it is simple enough for people who are not technical.
It is a centralised service, so everything runs through Signal's own servers and you cannot move to another provider and keep your contacts. Signal has traditionally asked for a phone number to sign up, so check its current rules, and taking your chat history with you is hard. It is the easy answer for people who want what WhatsApp does without Meta in the middle.
- End-to-end encrypted messages and calls, on by default
- Run by an independent nonprofit funded by grants and donations
- Centralised, so you can't move to another provider with your contacts
What stands out
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For comparison, we also reviewed WhatsApp (14/30) as a benchmark.
