Privacy in messaging is becoming increasingly uncertain, with apps like Telegram changing their terms of service after getting into hot water with government agencies. Privacy-conscious users can no longer rely on encryption alone to keep them safe when the company running the chat service can easily leak their identity. Fortunately, services like SimpleX Chat help users regain their privacy by taking a unique approach.
In his latest video, Mental Outlaw presents the features that set SimpleX Chat apart from other encrypted messengers. First of all, SimpleX doesn’t require users to enter a phone number to sign up for the app. The phone number is usually one of the first pieces of information disclosed when a user is implicated. Messaging in SimpleX Chat uses a series of chat rooms for which users can create unique invitations using QR codes and links to share with the desired contact(s). By default, users will join SimpleX chats in incognito mode where SimpleX automatically generates a username to help keep the user’s identity private. However, users can use predefined profiles when connecting to chats and can create long-term invite links in SimpleX Chat settings.
The SimpleX network on which the chat app is built significantly enhances security. The network uses one-way onion routing, a deep web protocol, to send messages between users. Users can also choose the server on which they receive messages, and thanks to the open-source nature of the project, they can even create their own server if they don’t trust the predefined servers. SimpleX Chat goes a step further by using end-to-end encryption and encrypting messages stored on the user’s device. Users are therefore not able to track each other’s IP, and even SimpleX Chat does not know where messages are sent from.
Due to the complexity of the platform, SimpleX Chat does not currently have a large user base. However, given its group chat capabilities, SimpleX is likely to succeed in the area that made Telegram so popular. There’s no limit to the number of users in a SimpleX Chat group, so it’s only a matter of time before the SimpleX Chat directory is populated with groups as unique as the platform.
