Many different chat apps exist. This page will help you choose which one to use for your organisation. The applications will be compared looking at the five factors below:
- Popularity: When a lot of people already use the app, this makes it easier for new activists to join your communication channels. They do not have to download a new app, and do not have to become accustomed to it. Users will likely check for updates more frequently if they use the app for communicating with others as well.
- Functionality: The larger your organisation becomes, the more likely you will want to be using an app that is specifically designed for large group communication. However, keep in mind that apps with more functionality are often more difficult to learn for new users. When an app is hard to use, people will be less likely to start actively using it.
- Security and privacy: You should make an analysis how important it is to keep secret the identity of your fellow activists and their communication with each other. As an activist organisation, you are likely being followed closely by local authorities. This is not necessarily a reason to become more secretive, as this could scare potential new members of your movement away. Do not, however, be naive when it comes to the ability and willingness of authorities to follow your actions. If you're interested in communicating securely with others, also read this article by EFF.
- Price and revenue model: Unless your group is fairly small, and intends to stay that way, you will want to use an app that is free to use for your members. Apps that are targeted at larger organisations often use a different payment model: they ask the organisations to pay per member. Some offer software that you can host yourself, which means that you will be making (relatively small) hosting costs. This means, however, that you will have to manage your server yourself. You will need the technical capacity to do this.
We only share tools we really like. We are not being payed to recommend them. Feel free to add the tools that you like to use as an activist! Prices shown might not be up-to-date.
¶ Contents
Chat apps (sorted by popularity):
- WhatsApp ✨ most users
- Facebook Messenger
- Tencent QQ
- Telegram✨ best functionality
- Signal✨ most secure
- iMessage
Communication tools for large organisations:
¶ Clarifying some terms
Before going on to comparing the various chat apps, there are a few terms that need to be clarified, as they will be used quite a bit.
¶ Web server
When you visit a website, your computer sends a request to a computer elsewhere to ask for that specific web page. This other computer then sends back the web page that you asked for. This other computer is called a web server, or short a server.
Chat apps also use web servers. If you send a message, this message is first sent to the server. The server then passes it along to the device of your recipient. The server may also store other data, such as analytics of how often you use your chat app. What kind of pieces of information are stored, how long they remain on the web server and how they are encrypted, depends on the chat app you use and their privacy and security practices.
¶ Metadata
Metadata is often described as everything except the content of your communications. You can think of metadata as the digital equivalent of an envelope. Just like an envelope contains information about the sender, receiver, and destination of a message, so does metadata. Metadata is information about the digital communications you send and receive. Some examples of metadata include:
- the name and members of your group chats
- the length of your conversations
- the time frame in which a conversation took place
- your location when communicating (as well as with whom)
Metadata matters: The paragraph above was based on an article published by EFF under a Creative Commons licence. Read it here: https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/why-metadata-matters
¶ End-to-end encryption
Chat apps offer various forms of encryption. Some are more secure that others. For example, Signal and WhatsApp offer end-to-end encryption, which prevents anyone else but the person you are talking to from reading your messages. Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Tencent QQ and Telegram do not use end-to-end encryption by default.
End-to-end encryption protects messages in transit all the way from sender to receiver. It ensures that information is turned into a secret message by its original sender (the first “end”) and decoded only by its final recipient (the second “end”). No one, including the app you are using, can “listen in” and eavesdrop on your activity.
Accessing end-to-end encrypted messages in an app on your device actually means that the app company itself can’t read them. This is a core characteristic of good encryption: even the people who design and deploy it cannot themselves break it.
Electronic Frontier Foundation (11-24-2018). Retrieved from:
https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/what-should-i-know-about-encryption
No technology is 100% secure. Even end-to-end encryption does not guarantee that your conversations might be vulnerable for outsiders. Read for example this article by Gregorio Zanon about why end-to-end encryption does not prevent Facebook from accessing WhatsApp messages.
¶ Chat apps
The chat apps below are best suited for small to medium sized groups. It is also possible to use these chat apps for larger movements, but it will become harder to keep an overview. Most chat apps have a maximum number of members for group chats. As your movement grows, you might want to look at the communication tools for larger organisations
Most users: WhatsApp
Best for privacy and security: Signal
Best functionality: Telegram
In short: This app is very popular and simple to use. While it is owned by Facebook and some improvements are possible, WhatsApp provides quite decent security and privacy compared to the alternatives. If you need more privacy, go for Signal. WhatsApp is blocked in China.
Popularity: WhatApp is the most popular chat app worldwide. It is leading in Africa, South America and in parts of Europe and Asia. WhatsApp is blocked in China.
Functionality: WhatsApp is a mobile app, but it can also be accessed on your desktop via their web application while your phone is online. Group chats can contain up to 265 people. Non-admin group chat members can be restricted from sending messages, so that important announcements do not disappear in an overload of messages.
It is also possible to broadcast to up 256 people. Using this functionality, a single phone sends out messages to a large group of individuals at the same time. This means that you will have to own a device which can be used as 'organisation phone'. With broadcasts, the recipients cannot see each other's phone numbers, which is useful if you do not want to disclose the identity of your fellow activists (unless someone gets hold of the sender's phone of course).
Security and privacy: The good part is that this app uses end-to-end encryption for the content of messages, which means that only you and your recipient(s) can read your messages. The encryption protocol was built in collaboration with the developers of Signal.
The not-so-good part is that the app is owned by Facebook. Data collected is shared with the company and used for advertising purposes. Metadata, such as with whom you talk and when, are stored on their web servers. Regarding this chat app's trustworthiness: Facebook has a horrendous track-record when it comes to privacy. The app is not open source. In other words, developers who do not work at Facebook do not get the chance to scrutinise its privacy and security practices.
Price and revenue model: WhatsApp is free to use. Facebook makes money by selling 'personalised' advertisements. Because the company has a lot of information about you, they can target their advertisements better and sell them at a higher price. In other words: you are the product they are selling. Facebook is also trying out new models of revenue by asking businesses to pay for additional features.
¶ Facebook Messenger
In short: This app is popular in many parts of the world. It is owned by Facebook and does not provide proper security and privacy features. If it is possible to convince your fellow activists to use a different app, consider switching to a more privacy friendly alternative such as WhatsApp or Signal.
Popularity: Facebook Messenger is the most popular chat app in the United States, Australia and some European countries. It is blocked in China.
Functionality: The app is available on iPhone, Android and via their web app. You can create group chats for up to 250 people. Video and audio calls are possible as well for up to 50 people.
Security and privacy: Messenger does not use end-to-end encryption by default and it's developer, Facebook, does not have a good reputation on privacy either. The chat app is not open source. Do not use this app if you need privacy.
Price and revenue model: The app is freely available, at the cost of having Facebook collect data about you so that they can sell their personalised adds. There are advertisements in the app as well.
In short: WeChat
Popularity: WeChat is very popular in China.
Functionality: WeChat is more than just a chat app. It's being used for following the news, transferring money and playing games. It is possible to create group chats with up to 500 members. Video and voice calls are limited to nine people.
Security and privacy: Content on WeChat is actively being monitored and censored by the Chinese government.
Price and revenue model:
¶ Tencent QQ
In short:
Popularity:
Functionality:
Security and privacy:
Price and revenue model:
¶ Telegram
In short: This app is popular in some activist groups, because it provides quite a bit of functionality for medium sized groups without becoming too complex. However, this app does not use end-to-end encryption in group chats, and in private chats only if you specifically turn it on. Consider alternatives if you need more privacy and security.
Popularity:
Functionality:
Security and privacy:
Price and revenue model:
¶ Signal
In short: This app is not the most popular, but if you need privacy and security, Signal is definitely the way to go. Signal is remarkably easy to use, open source and trusted by security experts.
Popularity: Signal is not very commonly used, but is popular among some activist groups, journalists and politicians.
Functionality: The app is available on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and even Linux. Unlike most competitors, there is no limit to how many people can be added to a group chat. Signal also offers voice and video calling, although it is not possible to use it in groups. Admin functionality is limited in Signal at the moment unfortunately: anyone who is a member of a group can add others. The app has built in censorship circumvention for countries such as China. It is possible to let your messages disappear automatically after a while. Recently, stickers and link previews have been added as well.
At times, it might take a little while longer before new functionality comes to Signal. However, once it does arrive, one can be assured its privacy and security aspects are very well thought out. Check out their blog for updates.
Security and privacy: Signal always uses end-to-end encryption. The developers of Signal have gone through great lengths to make Signal as privacy friendly and secure as possible. The app is widely recognised as the best option for privacy by security experts. The service stores almost no metadata, so even if authorities request access to user data, they will not be able to share any sensitive information. The app is open source and well documented for other developers to review.
Price and revenue model: The app is free to use. Signal is a nonprofit organisation and relies on donations. Concerns have been raised that Signal and many other privacy focussed organisations receive considerable amounts of money from US funded agencies. Despite these concerns, it still appears to be the most secure option available.
¶ iMessage
In short: iMessage only works on iPhone, so for many activist movements it is unsuitable. The app does quite well on privacy and security aspects, but is not open source.
Popularity: Apple does not disclose statistics for the popularity of iMessage. It is only available on iPhone.
Functionality:
Security and privacy:
Price and revenue model:
¶ For large organisations
Once your movement becomes larger and harder to organise, you will likely start creating working groups that are responsible for managing one aspect of your organisation. For example, in your climate movement, you might want to have one group working on social media, one for organising protests and another one working on reaching out to climate scientists.
The tools below use channels to categorise the different groups of your organisation. It is possible for individuals to join the various channels that they are interested in. You can also join a channel, but mute it so that you do not get overwhelmed with notifications. For coordinators, having all these channels in one app helps them to keep an overview of what is happening. In addition, these fools offer various integrations with other apps such as Google Drive, social media, your calendar and email.
The apps below are developed specifically for larger organisations and thus have extensive functionality to help you communicate as efficiently as possible. However, having such extensive functionality also means that members of your movement will have to learn how to use these tools. People will have to download a new app and they will have to become accustomed to checking it regularly for updates. All of this might make it harder for new activists to join your movement. As your organisation grows, you will have to find a balance between accessibility and efficiency. You might want to consider using a combination of both simple chat apps for newcomers, and dedicated communication tools for activists that are already more involved with your movement.
¶ Slack
In short:
Popularity:
Functionality and ease of use:
Security and privacy:
Price and revenue model:
¶ Discord
In short:
Popularity:
Functionality and ease of use:
Security and privacy:
Price and revenue model:
¶ Mattermost
In short:
Popularity:
Functionality and ease of use:
Security and privacy:
Price and revenue model:
¶ Riot.im
In short:
Popularity:
Functionality and ease of use:
Security and privacy:
Price and revenue model:
¶ Workplace by Facebook
In short:
Popularity:
Functionality and ease of use:
Security and privacy:
Price and revenue model:
¶ Resources
- WhatsApp uses for campaigning by Blueprints for Change