Do you ever get the feeling that somebody might be listening to or reading your private conversations? You're not crazy.
Online platforms don’t hide that they use data from chats, searches, emails, and other places for targeted advertisements. Aside from being a massive invasion of privacy, it also puts your security at risk.
But it is possible to prevent people from snooping on you. All you need is a little encryption. Check out these different ways you can add encryption into your life right now.
Texting
On average, people send and receive 94 text messages per day. It includes a variety of apps like Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage, and many others. All these apps may look and feel similar. But the level of privacy they offer differs a lot.
Facebook Messenger
Speaking of privacy, Messenger is the worst messaging app of all. Have you noticed the advertisements in the app? Facebook harvests data from your chats to show you personalized ads. In a way, they can do anything they want with your chat data.
Should you quit Facebook? That wouldn’t be the worst idea. But there’s an alternative too.
You can use the "secret conversation" option. It offers end-to-end encryption between you and the recipient. Though, you need to make sure the other user has agreed to it before divulging anything. It is also unavailable for group chats.
Also, let’s not forget Facebook still logs metadata, creating a record of who is talking to whom. And there's also no guarantee someone isn't a spoofed contact.
In the end, Facebook doesn't have an excellent track record for respecting privacy. Try to move as much of your messaging as possible to other apps.
WhatsApp is much better in terms of encryption than Messenger. It’s quite ironic since Facebook owns WhatsApp too.
But all WhatsApp conversations use end-to-end encryption by default. All communications are secure, and not even WhatsApp can see the contents of your chats.
Moreover, Facebook also recently backed down from selling ads on WhatsApp. It’s another good sign for privacy.
Of course, Whatsapp still has the issue of metadata, and if you don't confirm the identity of the receiver, spoofing. It makes it a reliable alternative to Messenger, but not the best you can do.
Other popular messaging apps like iMessage, Line, Viber, Kakao Talk, and others have the same level of security as well.
Signal
Signal is the best when it comes to secure messaging. It offers encryption for text, picture, and video messages along with end-to-end encryption on video calls. It's available across all platforms and endorsed by Edward Snowden and others in the tech community. It also has protections against metadata logging and contact spoofing.
Of course, it may be a struggle to convince your contacts to switch over to Signal. But it's worth it in the long run. Particularly for conversations that you genuinely don't want anyone to see.
Video and Voice Calls
As mentioned, Signal is the best for all types of conversations, be it text, voice, and video ones. Whatsapp also uses the same encryption protocols for video and voice calls. But it has the same issue of conversation metadata. The same goes for FaceTime and other video call apps.
If you're looking for even more features, check out Wire. Developed by one of the original Skype engineers, it offers encrypted multi-person voice calls which Signal doesn't have.
There are ways to encrypt your emails too. But by design, it is pretty problematic. Usually, you need to use special extensions or add-ons to encrypt your emails. For example, Enigmail and Mailvelope offer ways to add a layer of security over Thunderbird and Gmail clients.
But it’s best to use email clients that encrypt your emails by default. One of such options is ProtonMail. The catch is that both users must be on ProtonMail for it to remain secure between the sender and receiver.
Other Private Matters
Using encrypted messaging apps like Signal is an excellent start to enhancing your online security and privacy. But to make sure other third-parties like your ISP, cybercriminals, and government agencies aren't spying on you, enable a VPN anytime you connect to the internet. VPNs encrypt traffic between your device and your target web destination. It ensures no one knows what you do online.
NordVPN is an excellent option for that. It's user-friendly and backed by the latest security technologies. Best of all, it's compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and other platforms.
Finally, make sure to use a private browser or clear your browsing history and cookies often. It deletes the trackers that browsers use to keep an eye on your online activities.
It all might seem like a tedious task, but it does enhance your privacy online.
