Private Messaging Apps: What You Need to Know About WhatsApp, Signal, and More

Frank Bravo 0:08
Hi. Welcome to your Tech Makeover, the podcast that gives you tips and tricks to help simplify and get more out of the technology in your life. I'm your host, Frank Bravo. Today we're going to talk about private messaging apps such as single and WhatsApp and how to use them wisely. There's been a lot of buzz lately, and maybe you've seen the headlines about federal officials using these encrypted apps like single and WhatsApp, to discuss sensitive government matters. These apps are the same apps that you and I have on our phones and devices to use for messaging our family and friends, setting up group chat chats, and maybe even sharing funny memes. So I want to break it all down for you and exactly what these apps are, how they work, and what you need to know to keep your messages private and safe, and then how much trust to put it though. Let's start with the basics. Apps like single and WhatsApp, Google Chat, and even Apple Messages all offer some level of end to end encryption, which means your message is scrambled or encoded so that you, only you, and the recipient can decode it. Even the app companies themselves are not supposed to be able to read these messages. Single is an open source, free piece of software, and it's considered the gold standard for for privacy. You know, you might have used WhatsApp to communicate with friends. It's now owned by meta, and it uses the same single encryptions, but it has the backing of the Facebook ecosystem. So there's some questions about the metadata and then how those backups are kept. But it's still a good encrypted platform to use. Apple messages or iMessage is encrypted, but only when you're chatting from an Apple device to an Apple device. Texting someone with an Android even through asks, which is the new protocol that's been added to messages but has been part of Android for a really long time. That green bubble means you're out of the secure zone, so at least for now, that is not encrypted and chat. Another place you can go is Google Chat. It uses encryption too, but only when it's transferring data. So it's a good tool for teams, but it really doesn't allow for encrypting sensitive data. So probably not the best to be sending government secrets. All of them are useful, but as you can see, all of them are not equal. Now about the headlines from a few weeks ago. Reporters and reports have been surfaced that some officials in the government, including people from the FBI and other security agencies, have been using encrypted apps like single and WhatsApp to communicate about official government business. That raised some serious eyebrows. And it's not because the apps aren't secure, but because they were using it for official, regulated conversations that really were sidestepping the law meant to keep government actions transparent. And if that wasn't bad enough, they added a reporter into the conversation. And that calls into question why these apps are even being used in the first place for official business. So the issue here isn't the app itself or how secure it is, but it's how it was being used. It also calls into questions why they didn't use just the official tools that they have available to them. Technically, this was an effective way to communicate, but it really probably was not allowed. A quick shout out to listeners like you who helped make your tech makeover possible. Your support helps keep this podcast going and I truly appreciate it. Want to contribute? Just click the link in the show notes or visit your Tech makeover.com plus as a special thank you, supporters who give $25 or more will get $25 off one time consultation with me to help simplify your tech. Thanks for being part of your tech makeover community. Now back to what I was saying. I'm sure you've had moments when you send a message where you worry about, did I send the right message? But also, oh no, did I send it to the wrong person? I know I've done that. There's that split second after you hit send that your stomach just drops. It happens to the best of us. A good news is that some apps give you the ability for a second chance. In WhatsApp and single, there's an. Often you can use the delete for everyone option, but only if you act fast in Apple Messages. If both users are using the newer versions of Apple Messages, you can edit or undo the message for up to two minutes after sending. And with Google Chat, you're a little more limited. You can undo them. Actually, you can't delete them, but you can edit them and make them so that they don't actually include the message that you had sent. So there's a few different ways that you can protect yourself from that. Oh what did I just send? So even in a secure app, there's no substitute for double checking your recipient list. This is what I was talking about before. You don't want to accidentally send a text message about a bachelorette party. You're planning to the editor of The Atlantic. Or maybe you do, depending on who you want to have included in the in the party. In any case, usually once it's out there, encrypted or not, it's out there. Now let's talk about a few ways to protect yourself. Here are five simple tips to stay safe while using encrypted messaging apps. First, if the app allows for it, you should set up a pass key. So this allows you to lock the app itself even if your phone is unlocked. That will protect the messages from being seen on your device. You can watch your cloud backup. So like for instance, I just actually helped a client with this and they wanted to back up their WhatsApp conversations into their iCloud. You could also do this with Google Drive. The thing to remember here is that those backups are not encrypted by default. So you might have an encrypted chat, but that chat now is unencrypted when you save it as a backup. You can also use disappearing messages. Single WhatsApp and even Apple Messages now offer some self-destructing messages. This means that after a period of time, it will go away. This is great for personal notes or some very sensitive information, but I would still be very cautious about emailing or messaging passwords because you never know where those messages are going to end up. And that's another tip, is no app can protect you from your self or who you're chatting with. You know, if they take a screenshot of something that they that you have shared, now it's no longer encrypted. And finally, make sure you keep your apps updated. I've mentioned this before in other episodes that as long as you keep your apps updated there fixing security holes, and that will allow the encryption protocols that are improving constantly to be more secure. There are also times where you might want to avoid these apps all together. So for example, if you work in a work environment where compliance or transparency is required, then these are not for you. So those are places like legal or finance or government rules. Yeah. Government roles. You probably don't want to be using these these apps when you're sharing confidential business data. You also may not want to be using these because those might be subject to auditing or record keeping laws. And finally, when you're not sure how the other person is handling their security, you don't want to think that something is totally secure and find out that the person on the other end is doing things that is not secure. Encrypted apps are meant to be tools, but they're definitely not magical shields. So what's the bottom line? Encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp, single Apple Messages, and Google Chat are all powerful tools. They keep your conversations secure from eavesdroppers, but like any technology, they're only as smart as the person using them. So use them wisely. Lock down your settings, make sure you do your updates and think before you hit send. And always remember the best privacy tool is your own judgment. So are you using these sorts of apps? Let me know. And as always, if you have ideas for topics that you'd like me to cover, please feel free to contact me via email at Frank at your Tech makeover.com. That's it for now. Thanks for listening to your tech makeover. Don't forget to subscribe to your favorite podcast platform so that you never miss an episode of your tech makeover. You can also visit your Tech makeover.com for more details. If you want to find out more information about me, you can check out Bravo! It's com. Until next time, I'm Frank Bravo, and this has been your tech makeover.