Comparison

Signal vs Send Safe Message

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Signal

This messaging app prioritizes your privacy with strong end-to-end encryption for texts, voice messages, photos, videos, and files. Enjoy crystal-clear encrypted voice and video calls, and create disappearing stories. It's a non-profit, donation-supported alternative focused on secure communication.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encrypted messaging
  • Encrypted voice and video calls
  • Group chats up to 1,000 people
  • Disappearing stories
  • File sharing
  • Non-profit, donation-supported
Features
Read full description

Signal is a messaging app with privacy at its core. It is free and easy to use, with strong end-to-end encryption that keeps your communication completely private. • Send texts, voice messages, photos, videos, GIFs, and files for free. Signal uses your phone’s data connection, so you avoid SMS and MMS fees. • Call your friends with crystal-clear encrypted voice and video calls. Group calls supported for up to 50 people. • Stay connected with group chats up to 1,000 people. Control who can post and manage group members with admin permission settings. • Share image, text, and video Stories that disappear after 24 hours. Privacy settings keep you in charge of exactly who can see each Story. • Signal is built for your privacy. We know nothing about you or who you’re talking to. Our open source Signal Protocol means that we can’t read your messages or listen to your calls. Neither can anyone else. No back doors, no data collection, no compromises. • Signal is independent and not for profit; a different kind of tech from a different kind of organization. As a 501c3 nonprofit we are supported by your donations, not by advertisers or investors. • For support, questions, or more information please visit https://support.signal.org/ To check out our source code, visit https://github.com/signalapp Follow us on Twitter @signalapp and Instagram @signal_app

About

Send Safe Message

Send private text and picture messages that automatically disappear after being viewed once. This encrypted messaging tool works across various platforms without requiring recipients to install anything.

Highlights
  • Self-destructing messages after one view
  • Send text and pictures
  • No recipient installation needed
  • Industry-standard encryption
  • Messages erased after weeks if not seen
  • Optional local message erasure
Features
Read full description

Send safe private messages that self-destruct after seen once. Use with WhatsApp, SMS, Message, Email, Skype, Messenger and others. Message recipient doesn't need to install anything to see your message. This app is a new tool to send private messages of text and pictures thru your favorite messenger. Messages are automatically erased, destroyed, deleted right after being seen, making much more difficult to share, save or copy its content. In addition, private messages are shown out of context to recipient, to improve privacy. Everything is encrypted to add even more security. USE WITH ・WhatsApp ・Facebook Messenger ・Email ・SMS ・Message ・Skype ・Line ・Viber ・WeChat ・BBM ...or copy to clipboard to paste anywhere else FEATURES ・Message recipient doesn't need to install anything to see your private message ・All private messages self-destruct after been seen once ・Unclaimed messages are also destroyed after some weeks after sent ・Send text and picture ・No login required, easy-to-use app ・Industry-standard encryption for everything ・To improve privacy, taken pictures are not saved by default ・To improve privacy, you may erase local message after sent ・Works with any OS, platform or device A SOLUTION FOR PEOPLE LOOKING FOR ・Send WhatsApp, SMS, Email, Skype private messages ・Send Line, Viber, WeChat, BBM private messages ・Messages that cannot be shared easily ・Messages that cannot seen in the original context ・Messages that disappear, vanish, self-destruct after seen once ・Secure, encrypted message transmission DISCLAIMER Send Safe Message was designed using several industry-standard security encryption, tools and strategies to make messages as private as possible. The whole concept is based on messages that self-destruct on both server and client once viewed. As an additional security measure, messages are also automatically eliminated some days after sent, regardless of been seen. Also, sender can eliminate or check its own messages by visiting their links. However, there's nothing 100% secure in this world. In particular, message recipient still have some few possible actions to share your message. So, be aware and avoid sending too sensitive messages. Follow good internet behavior, security tips and use your common sense while using this app.This app is provided to be useful, but without any warranty of any kind. SEE MORE AT http://apps.qaqee.com facebook.com/qaqeeApps twitter.com/qaqeeApps

Screenshots

Signal4 screens
Send Safe Message4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Signal at 4.7 against Send Safe Message's 4.0. Signal also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 8 months). Send Safe Message's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Signal sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month and Send Safe Message sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Signal holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Signal has 1.1M ratings behind it against 97, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Signal's written reviews are positive against 64% of Send Safe Message's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Signal ships an update weekly, Send Safe Message every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Signal versus Send Safe Message: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSignalSend Safe Message
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.1M ratings) — better4.0 (97 ratings)
Positive reviews67.7% of reviews — better64.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.1M — better97
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#11 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size239 MB22 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperSignal Messenger, LLCqaqee Tecnologia da informacao

Customer experience

Signal

All ratings1,107,429 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral3.2%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews3,614 reviews
Positive67.7%
Neutral7.9%
Negative24.4%

Send Safe Message

All ratings97 ratings
Positive76.3%
Neutral4.1%
Negative19.6%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive64.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative32.0%

Bugs and requests

Signal

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Problem retrieving data, resulting in lost message history
  • Keyboard covering the current conversation
  • Inconsistent behavior when attaching photos/videos
  • Scrolling issues when reading through messages
  • Inability to recover message history after device change

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add filters and customization options
  • Allow adding music to stories
  • Implement a sticker store
  • Add ability to pin messages in group chats
  • Allow new members to view previous group messages
Show 5 more
  • Make group background changes visible to all
  • Implement a backup/restore feature
  • Add option to move sent messages to the left side
  • Bring back pause and skip functions for longer audio messages
  • Allow batch deletion of group messages

Send Safe Message

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Signal

Subscriptions1
  • Signal Secure Backups$1.991 Month
1 purchases

Send Safe Message

One-time1
  • Custom intro and no ads$1.99

Questions

Is Signal free?
Signal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Send Safe Message free?
Send Safe Message is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Signal or Send Safe Message?
Signal is rated higher. Signal averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.1M ratings, while Send Safe Message averages 4.0 from 97 ratings.
Do Signal or Send Safe Message have ads?
Send Safe Message shows ads; Signal does not.
Which is updated more often, Signal or Send Safe Message?
Signal ships an update weekly, and Send Safe Message every 8 months. Most recently, Signal was updated on November 1, 2026 and Send Safe Message on October 24, 2026.

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