How about Chatsecure with Jabber and OTP? Isn't that a viable alternative too?
Doesn't require you to use a phone number, so it works nicely on tablets or desktops (pidgin+otr), etc.
The best recommendation I have at the current time is OTR https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging, authenticate your key fingerprints, ensure that neither party's chat program is logging, and that both computers are free of malware.
Pidgin supports OTR, but it crashes enough to raise concerns about that last point.
Matrix (with the Element client), Wire and Threema are a few options that don't require phone numbers, offer end-to-end encryption and have mobile clients. IIRC, the chats also sync across devices (with some duration limits measured in weeks) on all these platforms.
It uses Otr for encrypted chat, so you can use any otr client for the other side of the chat. I personally use pidgin on my laptop and ChatSecure on my cell. It currently supports at least iOS and Android, which encompasses most people that I know.
If you want to chat privately, use OTR https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging, authenticate your key fingerprints, ensure that neither party's chat program is logging, and that both computers are free of malware.
Why use Google Chat at all when there're a lot of 3rd party community-run jabber servers available? Then you can use any client you want and get a level of protection you desire (including OTR).
Hey everyone. I don't want to start a debate or anything, I'm just looking for a privacy concerned chat service that I can easily teach my fiance to sign up for and use. She gave up on Pidgin, and I would appreciate any pros/cons for your favorite service of this kind. Thank you in advance!
For Android, I had probably trust anything by Moxie. Plus, you don't need to trust him - it's open source. Not that you have to verify it, but it's a good chance it's more secure than closed-source products.
My advice would be Xmpp with OMEMO encryption. On mobile, you can get the Conversations App for Android via Fdroid (no google play!), for the iPhone there is Chatsecure and on the Desktop you can use Gajim.
The advantage over Signal would be that 1.) you don't have to share your telephone number and 2.) you don't rely on a single service provider/accounts are decentralized (there are various services for free and paid accounts and you could also host your own server)
e: Dear stranger, I'd be very interested in an explanation for your downvote. thanks!
Consider trying Tox, http://tox.im/ ... It's open source and actively in development, but already at a usable stage. It's meant to be akin to skype, but open and secure.
If it’s for person-to-person chats (and not group chats), I’d recommend Telegram’s secret chat feature. Unfortunately, it’s tied to a single device (the one you start it on) and doesn’t sync across devices. You can also look at Matrix, which needs improvement in its UX but allows signing up with an email address.
Others have recommended Wire, which I’ve used for a few years until about two years ago. It doesn’t require a phone number, and an email address is sufficient. All chats are end-to-end encrypted and sync across all your devices (older messages sent before setting up a device wouldn’t).
There are some drawbacks to keep in mind with Wire: the company doesn’t care much about the non-enterprise segment. One of the side effects is that there is no way to export your chats (say, in text or HTML format) if you later decide you don’t want to use it anymore. You can only backup and restore chats on to the Wire app (and that also seemed to be platform specific when I checked it a few years ago). This means being locked in if you want access to the content. On the other hand, Telegram allows you to export chats so that you can have the content in readable form (say you decide to delete your account and save this beforehand). Wire also has a somewhat clunky Electron based desktop app (and you’ll know it’s Electron when you use it).
Another plus point for Telegram, which I haven’t seen in other apps that use a phone number: you can decide not to expose your account on Telegram to anyone who has your numbers in their contacts list (and allow only those you have on your contacts list to know, if you wish).
> Please explain how I can have a secure online conversation with my mother easily. (Easy for me, easy for her).
Pidgin with OTR -- configure and verify keys once, use whatever protocol you want. It is doable and not very difficult right now, the problem really is that no one cares.
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