| Messenger Last update: 25 October 2024 |
Briar |
Conversations (XMPP)  |
Delta Chat |
Discord |
Element (Matrix)  |
Facebook Messenger |
Google Messages |
Haven |
iMessage |
Jami |
Line |
Monal (XMPP)  |
Session |
Signal |
SimpleX |
Skype |
Snapchat |
Telegram |
Teleguard |
Threema |
Viber |
WhatsApp |
Wire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developer | Briar Team | Daniel Gultsch | Merlinux | Discord Inc. | New Vector | Meta Platforms | xx Foundation | Apple | Savoir-faire Linux | Line Corporation | Thilo Molitor | The Oxen Project | Signal Foundation | SimpleX Chat Ltd | Microsoft | Snap Inc. | Telegram FZ-LLC | Swisscows AG | Threema GmbH | Rakuten | Meta Platforms | Wire Swiss GmbH | |
| Year of publication | 2017 | 2014 | 2017 | 2015 | 2016 | 2011 | 2014 | 2022 | 2011 | 2018 | 2011 | 2021 | 2020 | 2014 | 2022 | 2003 | 2011 | 2013 | 2021 | 2012 | 2010 | 2009 | 2014 |
| Number of downloads (Play Store) |
1 million | 100 thousand | 100 thousand | 100 million | 1 million | 5 billion | 5 billion | — | — | 100 thousand | 500 million | — | 1 million | 100 million | 100 thousand | 1 billion | 1 billion | 1 billion | 500 thousand | 5 million | 1 billion | 5 billion | 1 million |
| Costs | — | 4.49 $ / none (F-Droid) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6.99 $ (Cash payment possible) | — | — | — |
| Environment | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Android | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | yes | yes | no (see Conversations) | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| iOS | no | no (see Monal) | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Desktop | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | yes (various clients) | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | yes (various clients) | Windows, macOS | no | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | only macOS | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | Windows, macOS | yes (various clients) | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | no | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux, FreeBSD | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux | Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux |
| Web browser | no | yes (depending on server) | no | yes | yes (depending on server) | yes | yes | yes (WASM required) | no | no | Chrome extension | yes (depending on server) | no | no | no | yes | yes, but only Chrome, Edge and Safari | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Usability | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Multiple accounts/profiles (multi-account) |
no | yes | yes | yes | client-dependent | no | yes | yes (one per browser instance) | no | yes | no | yes | no | no | yes | yes | no | yes | no | no | no | yes | yes |
| Use on multiple devices (in addition to mobile device) | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes (with Swarms) | yes, but only one Android/iOS device | yes | yes | yes, but only one Android / several iOS devices | yes, with desktop application, but app must be active in the same network | yes | yes, but limited functionality in the browser | yes, but only unencrypted chats are synchronized | yes | yes, but only one Android/iOS device | yes, but only one Android/iOS device | up to four additional devices | up to eight additional devices |
| Find/add contacts | Onion address (Tor) | Jabber-ID | User name | Matrix ID, phone number or email | Facebook contacts, address book | address book, phone number or email | no | Phone number or email | Jami name | Phone number | Jabber-ID | Session-ID | Phone number or username | SimpleX address | Skype name, phone number or email | address book, Snapcode | Telegram name or phone number | TeleGuard-ID | Threema ID, phone number or email | Phone number | Phone number | Wire name, phone number ord email | |
| Security | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Open Source | GPLv3 | GPLv3 | GPL | no | AGPLv3 | no | no | yes (permissive) | no | GPLv3 | no | BSD | MIT, GPLv3 | GPLv3 | AGPLv3 | no | no | GPLv2 (only client) | no | AGPLv3 (only client) | no | no | GPL |
| Comes without proprietary libraries | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | no | no | yes | no | yes | no | yes | yes (only F-Droid version) | no | yes | no | no | yes (only F-Droid version) | no | yes (only F-Droid version) | no | no | no |
| Encryption protocol / library | Bramble | OMEMO (Signal Protocol) | OpenPGP with Autocrypt | — | Olm / Megolm (Signal Protocol, partly PFS) | proprietary / Signal Protocol | proprietary, unknown | cMixx protocol; XChaCha20, Blake2b, HMAC-SHA256 (all 256 bits), Diffie–Hellmen (3072) and SIDH (3024) | proprietary, unknown | RSA-Keys (4096-Bit) | proprietary, Letter Sealing | OMEMO (Signal Protocol) | Session-Protokoll (missing PFS) | Signal Protocol | NaCl and more Encryption primitives (Signal Protocol) | proprietary / Signal Protocol | proprietary, unknown | MTProto 2.0 | proprietary, unknown | NaCI / Ibex | Signal Protocol (unverifable) | Signal Protocol (unverifable) | Proteus (Signal Protocol) |
| End-to-end encryption | yes | yes | clients with Autocrypt support | no | yes | yes, optional in group chats | yes, if RCS and Google Messages are used | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | only individual chats (optional) | videos/photos only | only individual chats (optional) | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Post-quantum encryption | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | yes | yes | no | no | no | no | yes | yes | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| Contact verification possible | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | Haven contacts are cryptographic identities | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | only in secret chats | no | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Notification if contact's fingerprint changes | yes | yes (if previously verified) | yes | no | yes | no | yes | yes (if previously verified) | yes | no | no | yes (if previously verified) | not possible/provided | yes | not possible/provided | no | no | no | no | yes | no | must be enabled | yes (if previously verified) |
| Last security audit | 2023 | 2016 | 2024 | — | 2022 | — | — | 2021 | — | — | — | — | 2021 | 2023 | 2024 | — | — | — | — | 2023 | — | — | 2018 |
| Privacy | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracker integration | no | no | no | yes | Opt-in | yes | no | no | no | no | yes | no | no | no | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no | yes | no | no |
| Use without phone number possible | yes | yes | yes | partly for anti-abuse necessary | yes | yes, but Facebook account required | no | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | required for registration | yes | yes | required for registration | required for registration | yes | yes | no | no, forwarding to Facebook | yes |
| Avoids / Protects metadata during use | yes | no | no | no | no | no | no | yes | no | partially | no | no | yes | partially | yes | no | no | no | not verifiable | partially | no | no | no |
| Reasonably useful without sharing the contact list | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | linked to Facebook account | no | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | yes |
| Supported push notification services | Polling (Energy hungry) | Google (FCM), Direct connection | Push-IMAP (Android), Chatmail (iOS) | Google (FCM), Apple (APN) | Google (FCM), Apple (APN), Polling, UnifiedPush | Google (FCM), Apple (APN) | Google (FCM) | Polling (Energy hungry) | Apple (APN) | Google (FCM), Apple (APN), UnifiedPush | Google (FCM), Apple (APN) | Apple (APN) | Google (FCM), Apple (APN), Polling | Google (FCM), Apple (APN), Direct connection (Android) | Apple (APN), Direct connection (Android) | Google (FCM), Apple (APN) | Apple (APN) | Google (FCM), Apple (APN), Direct connection (Android) | Google (FCM), Apple (APN) | Google (FCM), Apple (APN), Direct connection (Android) | Google (FCM), Apple (APN) | Google (FCM), Apple (APN), Direct connection (Android) | Google (FCM), Apple (APN), Direct connection (Android) |
| Advertising-free | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | yes | yes | no | no | yes |
| Sustainability | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Centralized / Federated / Decentralized | decentralized, Peer-to-peer | federated | federated | centralized | federated | centralized | centralized | decentralized, Peer-to-peer | centralized | decentralized, Peer-to-peer | centralized | federated | decentralized | centralized | anonymous, decentralized routing | centralized | centralized | centralized | centralized | centralized | centralized | centralized | centralized |
| Infrastructure hosting | — | distributed server | distributed server | Google and Cloudflare | distributed server / Google (Opt-In) | Meta, Amazon | distributed (centralized scheduling & decentralized, permissionless nodes/gw in dozens of jurisdictions) | Apple | — | Line, Akamai and Amazon | distributed server | distributed server, attachments stored centrally in Canada (Oxen File Server) | Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Cloudflare | distributed server | Microsoft, Akamai | Amazon, Google and Cloudflare | Telegram | Server in Switzerland | Server in Switzerland | Amazon, Akamai | Meta, Amazon | Amazon | |
| Transparency / Financing (Including donations) | transparent | clear funding | transparent | fee-based offers, advertisements | partially non-transparent | non-transparent, advertisements | non-transparent | transparent | indirectly, via Apple hardware | fee-based offers | non-transparent, advertisements | donation-based, non-transparent | donation-based, non-transparent | donation-based, investors, partially non-transparent | donation-based, investors | non-transparent | premium subscription, advertisements | premium subscription, mostly non-transparent | donation-based, fee-based offers, mostly non-transparent | clear funding | premium subscription, mostly non-transparent | non-transparent | non-transparent, change of location |
| Availability | Website, Play Store, F-Droid | Play Store, F-Droid | Website, Play Store, F-Droid, App Store | Play Store, App Store | Play Store, F-Droid, App Store | Play Store, App Store | Play Store | Website, Gitlab | App Store | Play Store, F-Droid, App Store | Play Store, App Store | App Store | Website, Play Store, F-Droid, App Store | Website, Play Store, App Store | Play Store, F-Droid, App Store | Play Store, App Store | Play Store, App Store | Play Store, F-Droid, App Store | Website, Play Store, App Store | Website, Play Store, F-Droid, App Store | Play Store, App Store | Website, Play Store, App Store | Website, Play Store, F-Droid (outdated), App Store |
| Legal jurisdiction | — | depending on server location | depending on server location | USA | depending on server location | USA | USA | USA (foundation); worldwide (decentralized nodes) | USA | Canada | Japan | depending on server location | Swiss | USA | United Kingdom | USA | USA | Dubai (alternating) | Swiss | Swiss | Japan | USA | Germany |
| Functions | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Voice messages | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Audio-/Video-chats | no | yes (depending on server) | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | seperate app | yes | yes | yes (depending on server) | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Group chats | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Maximum number of participants group chat | unknown | thousands of users (depending on the XMPP server) | approx. 100 (depending on the email provider) | 100 thousand (more also possible) | thousands of users (depending on the matrix server) | 250 | 20 | unknown | 32 | 8 | 500 | thousands of users (depending on the XMPP server) | 100 | 1000 | No limitation (poor performance from 50 participants upwards) | 600 | 200 | 200 thousand | No limitation (performance unknown) | 256 | 250 | 1024 | 100 |
| File exchange | yes (images only) | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Self-destructing messages | yes | no | yes | no | partially, depending on server | yes | no | yes | yes | no | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | no | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Backup | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Storage location | no (reason) | locally | locally | no | locally and / or Cloud (iCloud) | locally and / or Cloud (iCloud/Google Drive) | Cloud (Google Drive) | locally and on distributed gateways | locally and / or Cloud iCloud | locally | Cloud (iCloud/Google Drive) | Cloud (iCloud) | no | locally (only Android) | locally | locally | Snapchat-Cloud (Memorys) | Telegram-Cloud (except secret chats) | locally | locally and / or (own) server | Cloud (iCloud/Google Drive) | locally and Cloud (iCloud/Google Drive) | locally |
| Automated | — | after setup | no | — | partially, after setup | after setup | yes | yes (21 days) | after setup (only Cloud) | no | yes | after setup (only Cloud) | — | after setup | no | no | no | yes | after setup | partially, after setup | after setup | after setup | no |
| Encrypted | — | yes | no | — | for iOS keys with the provider (unless ADP is active) | for iOS keys with the provider (unless ADP is active) | yes | yes | for iOS keys with the provider (unless ADP is active) | no | for iOS keys with the provider (unless ADP is active) | for iOS keys with the provider (unless ADP is active) | — | yes | yes | no | key with the provider | key with the provider | yes | yes | for iOS keys with the provider (unless ADP is active) | for iOS keys with the provider (unless ADP is active) | only iOS, for iOS keys with the provider (unless ADP is active) |
| Link to review | Link | Link | Link | — | Link | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Link | Link | — | — | Link | — | Link | — | — | Link |
| Operability / Target group | Nerd, Activist, Journalist | Advanced | Advanced | Beginner | Advanced | Beginner | Beginner | Beginner | Beginner | Advanced | Beginner | Advanced | Advanced | Beginner | Advanced | Beginner | Beginner | Beginner | Advanced | Beginner | Nerd, Developer | Beginner | Advanced |
| (subjective) Recommendation | yes | yes | limited | no | yes | no | no | yes (by ArmchairAncap) | no | limited | no | yes | very limited | yes | limited | no | no | no | no | yes | no | no | limited |
| FAQ Matrix | Collaboration | License CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| © Mike Kuketz Kuketz-Blog |
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