The app has no ads, does not track users' data, and does not store any metadata such as timestamps, internet addresses or group names so it can't give them up if asked. It is considered one of the most secure systems in the world. A company called Whisper Systems created two encrypted apps, RedPhone for voice calls and TextSecure for texting.

A magazine journalist’s account of being added to a group chat of U.S. national security officials coordinating plans for airstrikes has raised questions about how highly sensitive information is supposed to be handled.