<aside> ⚠️ All of the "recommendations" in this article are just that. They are not guarantees or endorsements and they never cover every edge case. I cannot help you if you mess something up. Always do your own research and form your own opinions. Don't believe everything you read on the internet.
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Let's talk about what "privacy" means.
Privacy shouldn't be confused with anonymity or the desire to go "off the grid" — people who want that are better off throwing away their phones and building a cabin in the woods. Rather, privacy is about owning your data and deciding how it's used — and realistically, ensuring it's used in the way you'd expect it to be. When you send a text to a friend, you expect that the only person reading that text is your friend. When you close the Facebook app, you expect that is isn't still using your microphone.
If you find yourself saying "but I don't have anything to hide," we're not yet on the same page. Watch the following before continuing:
https://www.ted.com/talks/glenn_greenwald_why_privacy_matters
In short, Max Schrems probably put it best — My Privacy is None of Your Business.
It's really not even up for debate. Check out the following site which does an excellent job comparing all of the top messaging apps by a slew of privacy metrics and see why Signal comes out on top.
Secure Messaging Apps Comparison | Privacy Matters
Signal Messenger: Speak Freely
<aside> ⚠️ Note that WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and most others are either not encrypted at all, not end-to-end encrypted, or not open source.
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