Swiss-made messenger with end-to-end encryption
With Threema, you can securely send chat messages, photos, videos or even your own location to your contacts. The app relies on end-to-end encryption and promises a high level of security – not even the provider itself will be able to read the messages.
Secure chats and contacts via QR Code
In addition to the usual features you would expect from competitors such as WhatsApp or Telegram, Threema pays special attention to security. According to the developers, photos, videos, chat messages and even your own location can be encrypted by Threema directly on the device. By using end-to-end encryption, no one should have access to the data except the person sending it, as well as the person receiving it.
In addition, Threema encourages you to make sure that the person you want to contact is actually the person behind the digital contact. To help verify this, the app displays one to three points next to a contact, from red to green. If you received the contact ID via mail, Threema assigns a red dot, because a stranger could also be behind the ID.
Three green dots appear if you scan the QR code of another user when entering their contact info. On request, Threema can also read your phone’s contact list. If other contacts are found, you can choose whether or not you want to add them.
Options let you add a background image for a chat, choose notification types, or protect the app with a password. A backup function saves chats, contacts, and your phone ID in case you change mobiles. If you’re a fan of group chats, you can add up to 20 participants into a conversation.
Solid interface, practical QR scanner
Threema presents a solid user interface. It’s fairly easy to get the hang of using the app, although some menus would be better off in one place: you can leave a group, for example, by using the the menu option ‘my groups’, but not from the group chat itself.
Threema also doesn’t offer the same level of clarity as WhatsApp. If you’re looking for a photo, you have to scroll through the entire chat history because there’s no option for a photo overview. In contrast, Threema scores bonus points for offering more than 750 smileys.
Another big plus point for Threema is the ability to add contacts via QR code. If you hold the phone over someone else’s QR code, Threema will add the contact. In addition, you can choose whether you want to share your mobile number or email address in Threema.
Conclusion: Secure Messenger with solid user interface
Threema offers a lot of security, although you’ll have to give up some level of comfort and familiarity to get used to the app quickly. Unfortunately, it’s missing some of the practical functions that the competition have, as well as menus that are easy to navigate.
