Private and open-source alternatives to Twilio
5 SMS and voice APIs rated against the same public privacy criteria as Twilio, with our picks first.
Why look for an alternative?
- Open source: no. Closed source.
- No trackers or telemetry: no. The website loads Google Tag Manager, Segment, Adobe Launch and VWO.
- No ads or data sales: partial. Funded by usage fees and states data is not sold, but website tracking for targeted advertising counts as sharing under some US state laws.
- Independent audit: partial. SOC 2 and ISO 27001 audits are listed, but reports are only available on request through the Twilio Trust Center.
- TLS configuration: partial. Grade A-
- Security headers: partial. Grade B (70/100+)
- Message content deleted or redacted: partial. Message bodies are kept until deleted, and can be deleted through the API. Automatic message redaction is only available to Twilio Editions customers.
- EU data location: partial. Voice and SMS can run in the Ireland (IE1) region. Data residency for SMS in the EU is in beta.
The alternatives
Plivo Grade F
Cloud communications platform with APIs for SMS, MMS, WhatsApp, voice calls and phone number verification.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Plivo scores 33 out of 100 (grade F) on the SMS and voice APIs criteria. It meets 2 of 10 criteria: TLS configuration and message content deleted or redacted.
Bandwidth Grade F
Communications platform and phone carrier with APIs for SMS, MMS, voice calls, emergency calling and phone numbers.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Bandwidth scores 30 out of 100 (grade F) on the SMS and voice APIs criteria. It meets 2 of 10 criteria: TLS configuration and message content deleted or redacted.
Sinch Grade F
Communications platform with APIs for SMS, MMS, RCS, WhatsApp, voice calls and phone number verification, with regional endpoints.
Based in Sweden (Fourteen Eyes). Sinch scores 25 out of 100 (grade F) on the SMS and voice APIs criteria. It meets 2 of 10 criteria: TLS configuration and EU data location.
Telnyx Grade F
Communications platform with APIs for SMS, MMS, voice calls, SIP trunking and phone number verification.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). Telnyx scores 25 out of 100 (grade F) on the SMS and voice APIs criteria. It meets 1 of 10 criteria: message content deleted or redacted.
Infobip Grade F
Communications platform with APIs for SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, email, voice calls and phone number verification, plus customer engagement tools.
Based in the United Kingdom (Five Eyes). Infobip scores 15 out of 100 (grade F) on the SMS and voice APIs criteria. It partly meets TLS configuration, security headers and message content deleted or redacted.