Why We Exclusively Use SimpleX Chat for Sensitive Communications

Why We Exclusively Use SimpleX Chat for Sensitive Communications

In the world of secure messaging, the popular choice is rarely the most secure choice. While WhatsApp and Telegram dominate the market, their design contains fundamental flaws that make them unacceptable for handling truly sensitive data. Our operations demand the highest standard of privacy, which is why we have standardized on SimpleX Chat. This article outlines the critical reasons for this decision and provides our secure contact address.

The most significant difference lies in the very foundation of how these networks operate: how they identify you.

WhatsApp and Telegram are built on identifiable accounts. WhatsApp requires your phone number, full stop. Telegram primarily uses your phone number, with an optional username. This requirement is a massive security weakness. It means that both Meta (who owns WhatsApp) and Telegram have a central record linking your identity to your account. This creates a rich source of metadata—a log of who you communicate with, when, and how often. This data is extremely valuable and can be compromised, even if the message content itself is encrypted.

SimpleX Chat is revolutionary because it uses no identifiers at all. No phone number, no username, no account. You are completely anonymous on the network. SimpleX connects users through a network of separate, anonymous relay servers, making it virtually impossible for anyone to see who is talking to whom. It is the only platform that effectively protects your metadata by design.

Let's break down the key comparisons point by point:

Encryption and Storage:

• WhatsApp uses the strong Signal Protocol for end-to-end encryption (E2EE) in all chats, which is excellent. However, it undermines this by encouraging unencrypted backups to iCloud or Google Drive, creating a major vulnerability.

• Telegram’s approach is its greatest weakness. E2EE is not the default; it is only available in "Secret Chats," which are device-specific and cannot be used on your desktop. Your regular chats are stored on Telegram's servers in a form they can access.

• SimpleX Chat has end-to-end encryption permanently enabled for all communications, with no exceptions. There is no cloud backup to weaken its security; messages exist only on the participants' devices.

Trust and Openness:

• WhatsApp, while its client is open source, is owned by Meta (Facebook). Using it requires trusting a company with a documented history of privacy issues to not exploit your metadata.

• Telegram is more open, with both client and server code available for review. However, you must still trust Telegram's central servers to not log your metadata.

• SimpleX Chat is fully open-source and operates on a "no trusted servers" principle. By using a decentralized network of relay nodes, it eliminates any single point of failure or control. You don't have to trust anyone.

The Bottom Line:
Telegram and WhatsApp offer convenience through their network effects—everyone is already there. But this convenience is the enemy of security. For casual chats, this may be an acceptable trade-off. For the confidential, high-stakes communications we engage in, it is not.

We prioritize the absolute privacy and security of our conversations above all else. SimpleX Chat is the only platform that provides the necessary level of anonymity by protecting both message content and metadata through its unique, identifier-free architecture.

We have migrated all sensitive operations to SimpleX. To establish secure contact, please download the application and use our unique address:

https://smp16.simplex.im/g#cz-FHa18KifzimU_Hv66lYnDeh7mbx-V7vVgFHF2j7g

This is the only channel we guarantee for private and secure correspondence. Move beyond the illusion of privacy offered by mainstream apps and join us on the platform that truly empowers it.