The list includes products from Facebook, Apple, Google, Telegram and Line.
International human rights organization Amnesty International has made a rating of security of instant messengers. So, in the top five overall list includes services from Facebook (Messenger, WhatsApp), Apple (iMessage, FaceTime), Google (Hangouts, Allo, Duo), Telegram (Telegram Messenger) and Line (Line Messenger). On the last positions products from Tencent (QQ, WeChat), Snapchat, and Blackberry (Blackberry Messenger).
For the study human rights activists have asked the companies standards of encryption of instant messaging, as well as information about the internal politics of privacy of data transmission. Also, attention was drawn to the legal position of the company, in particular the attitude of the owners to breach the rules of confidentiality of correspondence. The highest score on this criterion received a Telegram and Microsoft. The lowest number of points from Viber, Snapchat, Line, and Blackberry.
According to the criterion of end-to-end encryption (when one device directly transmits information to another device without a mediator) human rights activists have noted instant messengers WhatsApp, iMessage, FaceTime, Viber, and Line Duo. In the Telegram, Hangouts, KakaoTalk and Allo this option is set, however, it is not the default. In Blackberry Messenger, this encryption can only be used for a fee. And in Messenger, Skype and Snapchat this option isn’t there.
Another criterion was the companies ‘ attitude to the requirements of the authorities on the disclosure of information. All the company, except for Tencent (Blackberry) stated that they would not decrypt the message upon request of the authorities. At the same time the most open policy in this issue Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage, FaceTime, messenger Google (Hangouts, Allo and Duo), Skype and Snapchat.
