Messengers
Conversations privacy rating
XMPP (Jabber) client for Android that works with any standard XMPP server, with OMEMO end-to-end encryption on by default for one-to-one and private group chats.
Summary
Conversations scores 83 out of 100 (grade B) on the messengers criteria. It meets 6 of 8 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, end-to-end encrypted by default, no phone number needed and decentralized. It partly meets independent audit. It does not meet metadata protection.
Score 83 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
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Yes
Open source Weight 3 of 3
Is all the source code needed to run the product public?
GPL-3.0, and it works with open-source XMPP servers such as Prosody and ejabberd.
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Yes
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
Exodus finds no trackers in the Android app.
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Yes
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
Sold as a paid app on Google Play and free on F-Droid, with no ads.
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Partial
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
A full cryptographic analysis of OMEMO, including its Conversations implementation, is public but older than three years.
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Yes
End-to-end encrypted by default Weight 3 of 3
Are all chats, including groups, end-to-end encrypted by default?
OMEMO end-to-end encryption is on by default for one-to-one and private group chats; public group chats are not encrypted.
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Yes
No phone number needed Weight 2 of 3
Can an account be created without a phone number?
Accounts are XMPP addresses on any server; no phone number is needed.
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No
Metadata protection Weight 2 of 3
Does the service minimize who-talks-to-whom metadata (for example sealed sender or no user identifiers)?
The user's XMPP server stores the contact list and sees who talks to whom.
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Yes
Decentralized Weight 1 of 3
Can people run their own server or talk peer to peer?
XMPP is federated, so users on different servers can message each other and anyone can run a server.