Originally appeared on: http://web.archive.org/web/20220528045359/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/tech/mobile/shoot-the-messenger-how-chat-apps-are-security-hellholes
There are dozens of texting options available. Here are several options with different capabilities. Unfortunately, many of the apps (or their parent companies) can be used for terrible evil.
November 27, 2018
This episode was supposed to be a simple round-up of chat apps. It became a nightmare of unspeakable evil, as you’ll soon learn. We’ll still highlight chat apps, but rather than discussing features, we’ll learn what you might want to be concerned about when choosing them.
Voice Communication Gave Us Protection
Only 15 years ago, we talked by phone. We expected privacy and security. Wire-tapping was expensive and required a warrant. Recording without notice was illegal. Laws protected us from the gross misuse of our communications.
With that in mind, let’s chat about chat apps.
Know Which Apps Your Contacts Use
Chat may still be the most popular use of the internet. But there are dozens of chat apps, and different people use different apps.
When you meet someone, record how they like to communicate in their address book entry. When you want to communicate with them, just look at their address book and go.
Pretty much all chat apps let you send long text messages, pictures, video clips, stickers (which are really just pictures), and audio clips. Most also allow group chats. Any chat app that doesn’t do those things is pathetic and not worthy of mention. But each one has its own special features, and many have sinister shadow sides.
An Incomplete List of Chat Apps (and Their Dark Sides)
Text Messages (“SMS”)
– Apple Messages
– Skype
– WhatsApp
– Signal
– Facebook Messenger
– Google Chat and Hangouts
– SnapChat
– Confide
– Kik
– WeChat
Let’s explore each in more detail.
1. Text Messages (“SMS”)
The most basic chat app is your cell company’s text messaging, called SMS for Short Messaging Service. Android and iOS smartphones let you send long messages. You can also send multimedia messages including pictures, audio, and group chats. All this travels over the phone network. It’s not particularly secure, messages aren’t encrypted, and your phone company may keep copies of everything. Depending on your phone plan, you may be charged based on how much you send and receive.
Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!
About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the Get-it-Done Guy podcast, an iTunes top-10 business podcast, from 2007 to 2020. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a degree in Computer Science from MIT.
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