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NOTRACE MESSENGER COMPARISON

Popular messengers that claim to provide privacy and confidentiality

Auditability Confidentiality Data Privacy Metadata Privacy Anonymity Usability
Client source code Server source code In flight end-to-end encryption In flight multi-layer encryption Message stored beyond the session (operator) Identifiable contact info stored (operator) “Sealed sender” or equivalent [2] Serverless option (operator-less) Hide IP address Registration phone or email (operator) Message delivery speed / reliability Voice quality
NoTrace 1 Yes N/A Yes Yes No No “N/A Yes Yes No Fair/Poor [4] Fair [6]
NoTrace 2 (coming soon) Yes Partially Yes Yes No No “Yes Yes [3] Yes No Fair [5] Fair [6]
NoTrace 3 (coming soon) Yes Partially Yes Yes No No Yes Yes [3] Yes No Fair [5] Fair [6]
WhatsApp No No Yes Yes Yes Yes “No No No Yes Good Good
Viber No No Yes Yes No Yes “No No No Yes Good Good
FB Messenger (Secret Conversations) No No No Yes Yes Yes “No No No Yes Good Good
Telegram (Secret Chat) Yes No No Yes Yes Yes “No No No Yes Good Good
Wickr Yes No Yes Yes No Yes “Yes No No Yes Good Good
Wire Yes No Yes Yes No Yes “No No No Yes Good Good
Signal Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes [1] “Yes No No Yes Good Good
Threema Yes No Yes Yes No Optional “No No No Optional Good Good
Briar Yes N/A Yes Yes No No “No Yes No No Fair N/S
Cwtch Yes Yes Yes Yes Partially No Yes Yes Yes No Fair/Poor N/S
[1] Phone number is required for registration.
[2] Sender anonymity—operator has no information that allows sender’s identification (e.g., Signal “sealed sender”).
[3] By default, serverless communication method is used with the server-based method is a fallback option.
[4] The sending application will attempt to send a message periodically until the receiving party receives it or it expires. If Push Notification is switched off (default) for privacy reasons, messages are only received when the application is invoked by user or active in the background.
[5] If Push Notifications are switched off (default) for privacy reasons, messages are only received when the application is active in the background or invoked by user.
[6] Assuming Push Notifications are switched off (default) for privacy reasons. Calls are only received when the application is active in the background. If Push Notifications are allowed for incoming NoTrace calls, the receiving party will be partially deanonymized but not the calling party. However, the call will be received reliably.
[7] Includes all the features of NoTrace 1 but presented herein without them for clarity. By default, serverless communication is used with the server-based method is a fallback option.N/A – not applicable; N/S – not supported.