CHANNELIn testing Join the beta

From iMessage or Google Messages

Encrypted is not the same as private.

  • CHANNEL shows what protected each message: blue when CHANNEL sealed it to the other phone, green when it went as a plain text message, which nothing about CHANNEL protects.
  • Backups: CHANNEL's data is left out of the iPhone's iCloud backup and Android's Google backup. A backup you choose is sealed with a passphrase we never hold.
  • Our server holds only sealed envelopes, deleted when collected or expired. It learns the size and time of each one, and the network address of whoever connected.

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Provider pages read on 24 October 2026.

Apple, in its own pages

  • iMessage is end-to-end encrypted, and only between Apple devices. Otherwise Messages falls back to SMS or MMS (green bubbles), which Apple says is not end-to-end encrypted. source
  • Each device's public keys go to Apple's directory, linked to your phone number or email. Apple says it does not store message content; the page does not describe what metadata is logged. source
  • With iCloud Backup on and standard protection, the backup holds a copy of the Messages key and Apple holds the backup keys. Advanced Data Protection makes the backup end to end. source

Google Messages, in its own pages

  • Conversations are end-to-end encrypted when both people use Google Messages with RCS on. SMS and MMS are never end to end, so a conversation that falls back to SMS is not encrypted. source
  • Apps you give SMS or notification permission can read your messages. source

WhatsApp: its promise, and what it leaves out

WhatsApp says only you and the person you talk to can read or listen to personal messages and calls, not even WhatsApp. source

Its privacy policy also describes what surrounds the messages:

  • It collects the time, frequency and duration of your activity, whether you are online, and when you were last seen. source
  • It collects your phone number, IP address, carrier and device identifiers. source
  • You may upload your address book, including the numbers of people who do not use WhatsApp. source
  • It estimates your general location (city and country) from your IP address and phone area code. source
  • It shares information with other Meta companies, for infrastructure, safety, and to personalize experiences and ads across Meta products. source
  • If you back up to iCloud or a Google Account, that service receives your WhatsApp messages. source

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