SILNT. Secure, Simple, Anonymous.

Private conversations and a bitcoin wallet you control. In beta on iOS and Android.

No Name, No Phone, No Email.
SILNT

Private by design.

Encrypted conversations, app locking and controls for who can see your messages. No personal details needed to get started.

Conversations

Only the people in your chat can read your messages, view your photos and hear your voice notes.

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Payments

Send and receive bitcoin and USDt in the conversation, from a wallet you control.

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One recovery phrase

Restore your identity and wallet without an account, email address or phone number.

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Less to share

No ads or usage tracking in the app. See what information is still needed to deliver messages.

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Made for iOS and Android

Choose Infrared, Lime, Light or sage-and-purple Ultraviolet. Both apps use TT Fors for chats and wallet amounts. Change your theme in Settings, then Display.

Compare the essentials

Know what you are choosing.

A practical look at privacy, identity, ad tracking and payments in popular consumer apps.

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Comparison of SILNT, Signal, WhatsApp, Threema, Snapchat, SMS, Messenger, Instagram, and Telegram.
Service	Private chats End-to-end by default	Encryption Feature score (0 to 3)	Device extraction 0 to 3 · Higher is better	Phone or email	Ad tracking	P2P payments To another person	Bitcoin wallet
SILNTThis app	Yes	3*MLS + ML-KEM/X25519	iOS1/ 3 AndroidUnverified Chat key protected. Wallet records use iOS protection.	Not needed	No ad tracking	Yes	Self-custody
Signal	Yes	3Signal Protocol + PQ ratchet	iOS2/ 3 Android2/ 3	VariesPhone-free Android option	No ad tracking	LimitedMobileCoin	No
WhatsApp	Yes	2Signal Protocol	iOSUnverified AndroidUnverified	Phone number	Ad targetingActivity and metadata	Regional	No
Threema	Yes	2*Ibex + NaCl	iOS0/ 3 Android2/ 3	Not needed	No ad tracking	No	No
Snapchat	No	0Text/group chats: no E2EE	iOSUnverified AndroidUnverified	Phone or email	Ad targeting	No	No
Standard SMS	No	0Carrier network only	iOS0/ 3 Android0/ 3	Phone number	Not applicable	No	No
Messenger	Yes	2Signal Protocol	iOSUnverified AndroidUnverified	Facebook accountSeparate EEA option	Ad targeting	RegionalUnited States	No
Instagram	No	0TLS transport only	iOSUnverified AndroidUnverified	Phone or emailFacebook option	Ad targeting	NoShopping excluded	No
Telegram	NoOpt-in Secret Chats	0MTProto 2.0 client-server	iOS0/ 3 AndroidUnverified	Phone numberAnonymous numbers available	Ad targetingChannels and location	LimitedWallets; regional	Third-partyWallet; custodial

Encryption score. Our 0 to 3 feature scale covers standard text chats.

0: No end-to-end encryption.

1: End-to-end encryption.

2: End-to-end encryption with forward secrecy to protect earlier messages if keys are compromised.

3: The protections in score 2, plus post-compromise recovery and hybrid post-quantum key exchange.

N/A: No comparable chat service.

Equal scores do not mean equal security. This is not an independent audit and does not assess metadata, backups, device security or implementation quality.

* Scores depend on chat mode. SILNT scores 3 for hybrid chats, the default for new chats. Classic chats score 2; older chats keep their original suite. See encryption details. Threema scores 2 with Ibex, but 1 in its multi-device mode, which its June 2026 whitepaper says currently lacks forward secrecy.

P2P payments. This means transferring money or cryptocurrency to another person inside the app. Shopping, subscriptions, donations and digital gifts are excluded. Third-party wallets are identified where shown. Availability can depend on country and platform.

Snapchat. The score covers text and group chats, not photo or video Snaps. A court record quoting Snap's declaration documents E2EE for one-to-one Snaps during 2019 to 2022, separately from other chat content. This historical evidence does not establish every current mode.

Telegram. Standard one-to-one and group chats are cloud chats, encrypted between the app and Telegram's servers rather than end to end. Only opt-in one-to-one Secret Chats are E2EE. Registration requires a number, with an anonymous-number option through Fragment. Telegram's own self-custodial Gram wallet began rolling out on 31 August 2026. Bitcoin is available through the separate, custodial Wallet service run by TG Wallet Inc.; availability varies by country.

No ad tracking. The app doesn't use your activity, contacts or metadata to target ads. Ratings cover published practices for the consumer service, including ad-supported versions and app data used for ads elsewhere. Ad targeting means at least one of these data types is used; it does not imply use of private message contents or contact lists. Context-only ads do not by themselves fail this test. Paid plans and regional controls can differ. Standard SMS is a protocol, so its entry is not applicable; individual messaging apps and carriers have their own policies.

Telegram ad targeting. Its policy describes contextual ads, but also permits targeting by followed channels and approximate country or city derived from phone-number or IP data. That makes its rating Ad targeting. Telegram says private chats and contact lists are not used, and Premium users are exempt from this ad targeting.

Device extraction scores and what could be seen

Assumption. Investigators have a full file-system extraction from an unlocked phone, with the operating system's storage encryption removed. This does not automatically supply a separate app secret or a hardware-protected key. If the app is already open and readable, its visible history may be accessible regardless of score.

Device extraction protection. Higher means more documented protection for retained local history after the phone's storage is decrypted. These are storage-design scores, not tested forensic recovery rates.

0: The local history relies on the phone's storage protection, which this scenario assumes is removed.

1: Some local history has additional encryption, but other primary history relies on the phone's storage protection.

2: The main local history has additional encryption with a key managed by the operating system. Obtaining or using that key may expose the history.

3: The main local history has additional encryption whose key requires a separate user secret or authentication beyond the decrypted files.

Unverified: Current evidence is insufficient to score the local storage. Unknown does not mean unprotected.

We have not run controlled extractions of these apps. Results depend on app and OS versions, available keys, whether the app is running, settings and the extraction method. End-to-end encryption does not hide readable copies on a device. No score guarantees that data is unrecoverable.

Platform and settings matter. Scores are shown separately for iOS and Android. Optional protections, source-based ratings and unverified platforms are explained below.

SILNT: 1 on iOS; Android unverified. Chat history uses SQLCipher with a Secure Enclave wrapped key. Wallet working records and pending-delivery files rely on iOS file protection, so they may be readable in this scenario. If the chat key is available, retained messages, contacts, groups and timestamps may also be read. The normal key gate accepts the device passcode or biometrics; Lockdown requires current biometrics. Rich notification previews add a key path without a fresh authentication prompt. An open store or a fallback/migration state can weaken the barrier. See device protections and their limits.
Signal: 2 on iOS and Android. Its message database has additional encryption with a key held in iOS Keychain or protected by Android Keystore. If that key is obtained or usable, retained messages, attachments and conversation details may be exposed. Screen Lock alone is not evidence of a separate database-key gate.
WhatsApp: unverified. Retained messages, media and chat details are relevant extraction targets. Current mobile storage-key protection was not established in this review. WhatsApp documents local databases on enrolled devices; E2EE backup settings do not establish protection of the live local database.
Threema: 0 on iOS; 2 on Android by default. Its iOS history relies on iOS file protection. Android adds database and media encryption with a Keystore-protected key; enabling its optional separate passphrase raises the history score to 3. Retained messages, media, contacts and group details may be exposed if the relevant keys are available. Some Android profile and settings data remain outside that encryption.
Snapchat: unverified. Saved chats and locally cached media may remain; disappearing content is not necessarily still present. My Eyes Only has a separate passcode, but that does not establish protection of the rest of the app. Snap's account data export is not a list of files guaranteed to be on the phone.
Standard SMS: 0. Retained texts, participants, timestamps and MMS attachments may be readable once phone storage protection is removed. This entry excludes iMessage and RCS.
Messenger: unverified. The local chat cache and retained attachments are relevant targets. An enrolled device may also access encrypted history stored online; that is separate from the files already extracted. Current local storage-key protection was not established here.
Instagram: unverified. Cached direct messages, media and account identifiers may be present. Published parser support establishes recovery for particular versions, not every current release.
Telegram: 0 in reviewed iOS source; Android unverified. Cached Cloud Chats, media, contacts and retained Secret Chats are relevant targets. Secret Chats are device-specific. An active account may also retrieve cloud history, which goes beyond the extracted files. In the reviewed iOS source, the database key is stored alongside the app's files; the app passcode does not separately encrypt that key. This source-based score does not verify every distributed build.

Notification databases, screenshots, exports, media saved outside an app, linked devices, backups and provider disclosures can expose additional copies. They are outside this local-history score. Deleted-data recovery is not scored. A disappearing-message setting is not a guarantee that every copy is gone.

Sources and definitions

Checked 28 September 2026 against consumer-product documentation and SILNT's current implementation. Encryption scores describe the chat modes listed above. Optional and third-party services are labelled. Regional availability and older app versions can differ.

Phone or email. Not needed means neither is required. Signal's phone-free registration option is Android-specific. Snapchat accepts phone or email. Instagram also allows a Facebook account. Messenger normally uses a Facebook account, with a separate account option in the European Economic Area.

No ad tracking sources. Checked 28 September 2026 against each provider's published practices. These ratings describe permitted ad targeting, not an independent tracking audit.

SILNT: No ad tracking. No advertising identifiers, analytics or trackers in the app. Privacy policy.
Signal: No ad tracking. No ads or trackers, and no monetization of personal data. Product commitments and privacy policy.
WhatsApp: Ad targeting. Ad selection can use location, language, followed Channels and ad interactions. Ad privacy and targeting inputs.
Threema: No ad tracking. No advertising or individual-user tracking. Privacy commitments and app privacy policy.
Snapchat: Ad targeting. Activity, inferred interests, location and partner data can personalize ads. Data used for ads and privacy policy.
Standard SMS: Not applicable. The rating is for an app's advertising practices; SMS does not identify one app or provider. Messaging clients and carriers need separate assessments.
Messenger: Ad targeting. Meta's ad preferences cover Messenger, including activity from other sites and apps. Accounts Center and Messenger and current personalization controls.
Instagram: Ad targeting. Activity on Instagram and from other businesses can shape ads. Personalization inputs and current controls.
Telegram: Ad targeting. Approximate location and followed channels can select ads; Premium is exempt. Privacy policy, additional advertising tools.