14 DAY TRIAL // The competition on the overcrowded instant messaging market is pretty fierce, but that should be a good thing for end users. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, BBM, Snapchat, Viber, WeChat are just a few of the alternatives that mobile phone users have at their disposal, and they all come for free.
So, coming up with yet another instant messaging solution is pretty risky for a startup business, but apparently, not for a well-known developer.
The folks over at SHAPE, creators of IM+ All-in-One Messenger, Business Card Reader and iDisplay, have just released yet another mobile application, which they hope will become popular among mobile phone users, namely Sicher.
Sicher (pronounced “Zee-her”) is the German word for both “safe” and “secure,” which is also the leitmotif of this application after all. Developers advertise their application as being a completely free secure messenger for Windows Phone 8, as well as Android and iOS.
The application is made by German developers and uses German servers only. Perhaps some of you are not convinced to give the application a try even if it’s free, so here is what it has to offer.
First of all, Sicher features end-to-end encryption of messages and files, which means that they are not sent unencrypted and there’s no middle-man to read messages or file that users send or receive.
The application also offers encrypted group chats, anonymous push notifications, self-destruction message settings, secure file transfer (pics, voice messages, locations, PDFs, docs, spreadsheets are encrypted).
Here is how the developer explains Sicher’s main security features: “Only your peer, the holder of original private key, can decrypt the message you sent. Moreover, once your peer receives the message, we delete all of its traces from our servers. And there’s a self-destruction timer for everything you send, as well as an option to force-purge existing conversation.
The only way for third-party to see your communication is the app on your smartphone, so if Sicher is your primary secure messaging tool, we recommend to set a device-level password in application settings to prevent unauthorized opening of the app. The password itself and the data stored on device are also heavily encrypted.”
Furthermore, you will only need your contacts’ phone number in order to start communicating with them on Sicher. SHAPE has also confirmed that no personal data is stored on Sicher servers and everything is cleaned up once the match of one’s phone book against existing Sicher users is made.
You can now download Sicher for Windows Phone, iOS and Android for free via their respective app store.