Threema. The Secure Messenger 4+

Pretty good

Ive been using threema for years now. Security wise its good. But i still think it lacks features.
1- id like there to be sending/delivered/read notifications on group chat messages.
2- the same thing many people have requested for yeaaars! Is auto deleting messages.
Always same answer: “its not as secure as u think, people can still take image with another device” yada yada
Yes, but its still a good feature to have, and has been requested countless times. And its not just about security. It saves memory, time and hassle. Ive had chats that end up lagging a LOT and i have to empty the chat, but it can take a good 10-15 mins to empty and i cant do anything else until its done. Just add the auto deleting feature and add a disclaimer.
I suspect theres another reason why they wont add it and wont say what it is.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your suggestions. We’re happy to review them, but cannot indicate if or when they will be implemented.

Solid App

The app rarely crashes. The support team do answer messages after a day or so if you need help. Very occasionally a new release will show up a bug that resolves with shutting down the app, but these are dealt with in new releases. The features feel robust and the app typically gets strong scores on review sites for the design of its encryption.

Sometimes the app will take a while to make a secure connection if you have dodgy signal. In more recent versions that has improved. However it does have a clear indicator to show its progress (or lack thereof) and you have the reassurance of knowing it’s not lying to you for the sake of finesse.

You can only get a copy of your chat history by downloading as a secure zip file, which is then emailed to you. This function does work, and works well, though it feels a little unwieldy.

Threema is not the most popular secure messaging app. Fewer people you know are likely to be using it. Make your own decisions as to whether that is a bonus or a detraction. If you want a more popular secure messaging app then I suggest looking at Signal or Telegram. Last time I looked Signal’s encryption and security was roughly equivalent to Threema but Telegram’s was slightly less robust. This may have changed.

Over three years or so the app has always under promised and over delivered on what it advertises. I recommend it.

For the feeble

Threema is an unbearably poor messenger service that merely survives on the back of the reputation of its E2E quality and open source backend, but the truth is none of this matters if the actual app services are so incredibly poor. The servers are slow and lack capacity, and the encryption is not even close to what others can do, meaning a voice call will always require peak connection of both devices, meaning the app will probably only send 2 out of the 5 photos you want to send first try and also forget the caption, meaning don’t even think about a video call. Furthermore, the owners can probably not remember the last time they’ve invested in app features, meaning the app will not be remotely close to the messaging features (polling, questions, reactions, sharing locations, interactions with other apps) of competitor apps. Meaning the app will have issues with your Bluetooth devices and cause other synchronisation issues. Meaning it’s a sad excuse of a WhatsApp competitor and I could have gotten half a coffee for my money.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately, we don’t understand to what your review is referring to, but we would love to help. It would be great if you could contact us at help@threema.ch so that we can find a solution.