Threema being a paid app is a feature, not a bug. As they say, there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and in contrast to paying with user data, paying with money is transparent and doesn’t sacrifice privacy.
While paying with money is good, paying with cash is even better. Despite the general trend of abandoning cash in favor of electronic payment methods, Threema’s Android app can now be purchased with paper money. It has always been possible to pay Threema for Android in privacy-friendly fashion using Bitcoin, but cash payments now allow for complete buyer anonymity without cryptocurrency.
How It Works
In the Threema Shop, you select “Pay anonymously with cash,” order the desired amount of licenses, and receive both an order number and a “license URL.”
You send us the due amount in cash and indicate your order number.
After receipt of the payment, we activate your licenses, which you can then obtain via the license URL.
When it comes to cryptographic protocols, a formal security proof is the ultimate hallmark of quality. German researchers now provide such a proof for the Ibex protocol, confirming that Threema’s security is based on a rock-solid foundation.
Each chat tells its own story. To also highlight the variety of your conversations on a visual level, Threema for iOS now allows you to set individual wallpapers for each contact or group chat.
Not only does this give the app a very personal touch, it also makes immediately apparent which chat is open, minimizing the risk of accidentally sending a message to the wrong person or group.
To change the wallpaper of a chat, simply open the respective contact or group details, tap on “Wallpaper,” and select an image of your choice.
In modern democracy, the press plays such an essential role that it is often described as the “Fourth Estate.” Without independent news coverage, and thus without the watchdog function of the press, political processes could not be reviewed by the public.
All good things come in threes: the latest Threema update for iOS introduces profile pictures in push notifications, contacts in the Share Sheet, and Siri suggestions, thereby improving the app’s OS integration quite a bit.
In addition to the EU’s so-called “chat control,” there’s another European draft legislation that uses child protection as a pretext for full-scale surveillance of chat communication without probable cause: the UK’s Online Safety Bill. Together with other messaging services, we take a firm stand against this legislative proposal.
Just like you occasionally replace old photos on the wall with new ones, apps also need a fresh touch every once in a while. Now, Threema’s iOS app presents itself in a new look: since the 4.8 update, the user interface has been renewed step by step. With Threema 5.0 for iOS, the complete rewrite of the chat view has now received its finishing stroke.
Today is Data Privacy Day, an international event held annually on January 28. Its purpose is to raise the public’s awareness for data protection on the Internet.
To celebrate the occasion, we have launched a collection of privacy-themed apparel and accessories. Here’s a small selection:
Join the movement, and show your support for data protection and privacy with statements like “Regain privacy” or “My data is nobody’s business.” To discover the entire merch collection, please follow this link:
Online services have started to realize that more and more users care about privacy. As a result, many put an emphasis on privacy protection in their marketing. More often than not, however, privacy protection is confused with security or, specifically, encryption. While encryption of user content is necessary for comprehensive privacy protection, it is by no means sufficient. If, for example, a chat service end-to-end encrypts the messages users exchange but at same time requires personally identifiable information and collects metadata for marketing purposes, that’s nowhere near comprehensive privacy protection.
A group chat with you as the only member? What might sound useless at first is a handy feature in Threema: this “group” can be used as a versatile chat for personal notes. Find out in this blog post in what situations this empty group chat is particularly useful.
Last year, a student at the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich wrote his master’s thesis on Threema’s communication protocol. ETH Zurich has now published his work as a paper/preprint. The presented findings have been addressed or no longer apply to Threema’s current communication protocol “Ibex.” None of them ever had any considerable real-world impact.
Exactly ten years ago today, on 12/12/2012, the first ever Threema version was published in Apple’s App Store. We celebrate the tenth anniversary of this historic moment with three birthday presents: a humorous short film recounting Threema’s origin story, a 50% discount on the app, and our extended protocol suite that future-proofs the system for the next decade and further solidifies Threema’s security with the new communication protocol “Ibex.”
With the desktop app and the web client, it has been possible to use Threema on the computer for a while now. At the moment, the desktop app and the web client require an active (end-to-end encrypted) connection to the mobile device. To send and receive Threema messages on the desktop even when the mobile phone is turned off, a multi-device solution is in development.
Starting today, a tech preview of Threema 2.0 for desktop is available, which allows iOS users to test the upcoming multi-device functionality ahead of time. To use the responsive new desktop application, which was redesigned from the ground up and is based on a totally new architecture, you will need the multi-device beta version of the iOS app.
At the moment, the tech preview of Threema 2.0 for desktop is only available for iOS, not for Android. In the future, support for multiple linked devices, including tablets and Android devices, is planned.
Just in time for the tenth anniversary, Threema introduces “Ibex,” a new cryptographic communication protocol that further solidifies Threema’s time-tested security and future-proofs the overall system. On top of that, the overhauled protocol suite receives additional key components that lay the groundwork for forthcoming features.
In a conversation, you nod or shake your head to let others know what you think. In a messenger chat, the thumbs-up or thumbs-down icons are used instead. Threema was the first messenger to introduce the agree/disagree functionality, which allows users to react to incoming messages with approval (thumbs up) or disapproval (thumbs down) without triggering a push notification on the chat partner’s end.
This unobtrusive form of interaction is very popular among many users, and in certain situations, it is the most appropriate form of communication. It also allows those who have deactivated read receipts to acknowledge the receipt of individual messages.
As of now, the popular feature is also available in group chats, where it unfolds its full potential. If every member of a large group were to state their (dis)approval of some message by replying to it, things would get out of hand quickly. Using the agree/disagree feature, however, the group chat stays tidy, and it’s evident at a glance how the group members feel about the message. To see who (dis)agrees with a message, simply tap and hold it, and press “(i)” (on Android) or “Details” (on iOS).
The agree/disagree feature is available starting with Threema 5.0 for Android and Threema 4.8.5 for iOS.
