Threema Work

The Secure WhatsApp Alternative
for Public Authorities

Public authorities often have complex structures, several hundred or even thousands of employees, various offices, and countless areas of responsibility. Providing fast and secure communication tools to their employees can therefore be quite a challenge. Find out how an instant messenger can help authorities to enable seamless information exchange across departments.

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Ensuring secure communication in public authorities and city councils is no easy task: Every day, personal data is exchanged, the involved offices and departments often work independently, and the large number of employees is hard to coordinate. In addition, communication via email is not always the most efficient solution, especially if employees are working remotely. However, using a messenger that’s intended for personal use is not ideal as it would only increase the risk of shadow IT, and compliance with current data protection regulations is not guaranteed. How can government agencies overcome these challenges to ensure secure communication?

Various Use Cases

In regard to possible use cases, Threema Work is as versatile as a Swiss Army knife: it combines the communication requirements of authorities with the features employees have come to expect from a state-of-the-art chat app.

This makes Threema Work the ideal solution for companies that require a fast, straightforward, and secure communication tool. It is the perfect fit for police offices, city councils, health institutions, and fire departments: personal data and other sensitive information is protected , and employees without a permanent workstation can be integrated into the corporate communication.

Even in case a company already uses a collaboration tool such as MS Teams, a dedicated instant messenger like Threema Work is still a must. Find out more on this topic in our detailed comparison of Threema Work and MS Teams.

Full GDPR compliance Full GDPR compliance
End-to-end encryption guarantees secure communication End-to-end encryption guarantees secure communication
No phone number or email address is required No phone number or email address is required
A true WhatsApp replacement that supports the mobile- first mentality A true WhatsApp replacement that supports the mobile- first mentality

Threema Work: A Universal Solution

The reasons why a business messenger like Threema Work is essential vary from use case to use case. The following features are particularly relevant for authorities and councils:

  • Privacy compliance: Threema Work is fully GDPR-compliant. As a Swiss company, Threema is also subject to Switzerland’s strict Federal Act on Data Protection (DSG) and the accompanying Ordinance to the Federal Act on Data Protection (VDSG).

Swiss Army

As of January 2022, Threema is the only chat app allowed for communication among members of the Swiss Army. Since Threema GmbH is based in Switzerland, it’s not subject to the CLOUD Act, which compels companies to grant access to data upon request of US authorities.

City of Winterthur

The city of Winterthur introduced Threema Work in 2022 because employees had often used messengers that aren’t privacy-compliant for business purposes. Threema Work is the only chat solution for business communication that is officially approved.
  • Separate personal and professional communication: With Threema Work, personal and professional communication is strictly separated. Thanks to the “off-hours policy,” Threema Work users can turn off notifications outside working hours, which helps to maintain a healthy work–life balance.

  • Easy to use: Threema Work is set up in no time and intuitive to use – no staff training needed.

Swiss Police

Swiss Police

In June 2022, the Conference of Cantonal Police Commanders of Switzerland decided to replace their messenger with Threema Work for all Swiss Police forces. Threema came out on top in a comprehensive comparison of existing messengers.

Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb NRW

Around 700 employees of the building and real-estate management North Rhine-Westphalia (Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb NRW) use Threema Work on a daily basis for communication outside the state administration network. Since messengers are well established in private communication, there were no difficulties introducing Threema Work. The poll feature and Threema Broadcast are used particularly often.
  • Fast, secure, and seamless communication across all areas: If employees only use a single communication tool, it’s easier to exchange information across departments and to contact those who don’t have a permanent workstation or a corporate email address. Even external parties can be reached easily.

  • Secure exchange of sensitive information: In Threema Work, messages are end-to-end encrypted by default. Verification levels not only allow employees to see at a glance whether a person is an internal company contactor not, they also prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.

Federal Administration of Switzerland

Since 2019, all customers of the Swiss Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems, and Telecommunication (FOITT) use Threema Work to exchange sensitive information internally classified as “confidential.”

Ministries and Departments

Threema is used wherever security comes first, for example in various defense ministries and police departments in Europe and beyond. For discretion and confidentiality reasons, no reference customers can be disclosed here.
  • Seamless communication in the event of an IT outage: If the corporate IT happens to be down, Threema Work still enables secure communication. This is an important aspect to stay operational in the worst case and maintain business continuity.

  • Include your mobile workforce: Since we carry our smartphones everywhere we go, an instant messenger is the perfect communication tool: Exchanging information with the staff is no longer dependent on a desktop computer or a laptop, and it’s easy to reach employees who are on the go. In addition to that, no phone number or email address is required to use Threema Work.

City of Freiburg im Breisgau

Every third employee across 50 departments of the city of Freiburg im Breisgau uses Threema Work. With Threema Work, even employees who are not equipped with a company smartphone can be part of the internal communication. Learn more
  • Remote app configuration: Administrators and department managers are able to preconfigure the app for the entire workforce or certain employees directly from the comfort of their computer.

City of Frankfurt am Main

City of Frankfurt am Main

In the city of Frankfurt am Main, about 1,600 employees across more than 33 offices use Threema Work. Multi-tenancy was a prerequisite because the individual offices have to be in charge as far as administration and user management is concerned (app pre-configuration, etc.). Learn more
  • Fast information distribution: With our tool for top-down communication, Threema Broadcast, messages can be sent to the entire workforce or to specific departments quickly and easily. In addition, employees can use bots to get predefined answers to their questions right in the Threema Work app.

City of Bern

Since June 2021, residents of the city of Bern have the option to receive news of the local council and vote results directly in Threema. The communiques are distributed via a free Threema Broadcast feed.
  • Self-hosting for maximum security: Threema OnPrem provides an independent and self-contained chat environment that’s unparalleled in terms of security and confidentiality. Thanks to full control over data, server, and software, Threema OnPrem is the perfect fit for professional use in public authorities, police offices, and law enforcement.

No matter where the focus of an authority lies or what situation needs to be faced, Threema Work meets every requirement for a versatile communication channel. More than 8,000 companies, including about 800 cities and authorities, already rely on Europe’s leading secure communication solution Threema Work that combines the benefits of instant messaging with superlative security and unparalleled data protection.