Encrypted and decentralized messaging apps will replace WhatsApp

Blockchain heeds the call for more privacy

Governments and commercial companies are using chat apps to get access to your data and metadata. As a result there’s a strong call for private and decentralized messaging applications. This new evolution of messaging apps started a few years ago. The internet used to provide digital freedom, but that’s no longer the case. Your digital footprint provides valuable data for commercial companies, while the government is keeping an eye on your. Even though end-to-end encryption is now becoming common ground, it’s still not enough. Your metadata is just as valuable, and now the call for blockchain technology and decentralization is growing stronger.

Early days of messaging applications

When the internet became a public domain in the early nineties, chat was very limited. People could use Internet Relay Chat (IRC) for live chat as we know it today, and they could use the Newsgroups and leave messages on a message board. As the internet matured, the world wide web came into existence and chats became popular on community oriented websites. It didn’t take long before companies made their own standalone chat applications for desktop computers. ICQ, Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger were among the…