Ask HN: Decent, secure IM app that works on iOS and OS X?

Posted by instakill on Wednesday August 20, 2014 @04:04AM
from the ask-hn dept.

I currently use Telegram which has an iOS client as well as one for OSX, but I'm looking for an alternative that isn't iMessage. What do you guys use or recommend? Encryption is a big bonus.

( 5 comments | 6 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Decent, secure IM app that works on iOS and OS X? by thegrif on Wednesday August 20, 2014 @05:23AM (#8201638)

Your best bet is to use OTR encryption over XMPP or another messaging protocol of your choosing. Also configure clients to use SSL/TLS.

You can learn more about OTR here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging

You will actually be using a different client on your iOS devices compared to OSX. Just use the same account/protocol and you will be fine. On MacOS you will probably want to use Adium. On iOS use ChatSecure.

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Re:Ask HN: Decent, secure IM app that works on iOS and OS X? by instakill on Wednesday August 20, 2014 @08:50AM (#8202094)

Sweet will give ChatSecure a try.

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Re:Ask HN: Decent, secure IM app that works on iOS and OS X? by cimm on Wednesday August 20, 2014 @05:22AM (#8201637)

What about a Jabber client?

ChatSecure and Monal are both excellent Jabber iOS clients that support encryption with Adium on the desktop? You can run you own Jabber server (ejabberd) or use one of the free ones out there (DuckDuckGo, https://xmpp.net/directory.php). It's not as nice as Telegram or iMessage but it works.

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Re:Ask HN: Decent, secure IM app that works on iOS and OS X? by raelmiu on Wednesday August 20, 2014 @10:21AM (#8202370)

I'm using Telegram too. Works fine for me.

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Re:Ask HN: Decent, secure IM app that works on iOS and OS X? by hackerboos on Wednesday August 20, 2014 @04:47AM (#8201563)

I don't follow.

What is your issue with Telegram? How is Telegram iMessage?

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