Editor’s note: This article is the fourth in a series focusing on the best encrypted apps and services available. Content has been provided by an anonymous security and privacy professional. Readers are encouraged to verify this information on their own.

Each of the apps and services mentioned in this article serve different but overlapping purposes.

Wire

Wire was created by former Skype employees, who wanted to create a better product from the ground up. Wire is free for personal use and only a few dollars per month for businesses with up to 256 users. Wire has apps for all major operating systems, plus browser extension, and supports, text, audio, and video, plus file and screen sharing, with good audio and picture quality. What sets Wire apart from some other products is that it uses usernames (you can have multiple) which allows you to compartmentalize communications easily. Wire is open source and audited. Reported call quality and reliability are excellent, which makes sense, considering how it was made. Since Wire’s paid versions are aimed at business, Wire goes so far as to include file and screen sharing and even GIFs in messages. Wire is Swiss, open source, and audited. Ephemeral messages can be deleted in 10 seconds, five minutes, one hour, one day, one week, or four weeks, which some may find a little annoying—but it works.

Wire flaws (but not deal-breakers):

Nothing, really.

Signal