The proliferation of messaging apps across mobile devices means that we can keep in touch with dozens of people at once, from friends and family to clients and colleagues, even if they happen to be on the other side of the world. But to ensure that your conversations stay private, you really need to get one of the secure mobile messaging apps on offer out there.

These are the apps which offer end-to-end encryption – in other words, the chat is scrambled so only the sender and the receiver can understand what’s being said.

Encryption means that even if someone should hack the messaging app’s servers, or tap into your conversations thanks to the badly secured Wi-Fi at your local coffee shop, they still won’t be able to interpret the messages. Here are the best Android apps with this feature.

• One of our best VPN services can also help you stay secure online

1. Signal

Signal is widely regarded as the gold standard of encrypted messaging apps, not least because its encryption engine is open source and available for anyone to inspect. That doesn’t make it any easier to hack, but it does mean there are a lot more pairs of eyes looking at the robustness of the encryption methods.

Besides the industry-leading encryption on offer here, the app itself is fairly plain and basic in terms of visuals and appearance. It does support group chats though, as well as the sending of files and photos in addition to text, so you’re going to be pretty well covered no matter what your needs.

Signal can replace the default SMS app if you want it to, but basic SMS texts aren’t encrypted – you and the person you’re chatting with both need to have Signal installed for the encryption feature to function properly, otherwise Signal doesn’t have enough control over both ends of the conversation.

The app also includes several other useful features on top of the tight security, such as video calling, and disappearing messages that vanish after a certain time period (perfect for those conversations you don’t want to stay on the record).

2. Telegram

Telegram is almost as well-respected as Signal is, although its encryption methods aren’t open source and thus haven’t been as well audited by third-party security experts. What it does have in its favor is a slicker interface, if that’s important to you.

Another black mark against Telegram is that end-to-end encryption isn’t enabled by default, so you need to make sure the Secret mode is activated before you can be sure that no one else is going to tap into your communications. Other types of chat and file transfer are encrypted, but only for part of their journey to other parties.

Those caveats aside, Telegram impresses in most areas, with features like chat backups and disappearing messages (messages with expiry times attached). You can load up group chats, make video calls and more, and in use it’s just as responsive and intuitive as the other messaging apps out there.

If you need all the bells and whistles of an instant messenger, like stickers and audio memos, and even basic photo and video editing, Telegram is a solid choice. Just be sure to enable the Secret mode for the most secure messaging.

3. WhatsApp

You’re no doubt already familiar with WhatsApp as one of the best messaging apps out there, but you might not have realized that it offers end-to-end encryption for your messages – in fact, it uses the super-strong encryption protocol developed by Signal.

There’s very little that WhatsApp can’t do. As well as the standard text-based conversations, it’s able to handle video calls, group chats, location sharing, and the transferring of files of various types. You can ping a lot of people at once with the Broadcast feature, leave voice memos, and more besides.

WhatsApp’s immense popularity works in its favor as well, because the chances are that the people in your contacts list already have it installed to keep in touch with friends and family. All those chats are fully encrypted by default – there’s no way to turn this off.

What might give you pause when it comes to using this app is that it is, of course, owned by Facebook, which means you’re contributing to the data collection practices of the world’s biggest social network. Facebook can’t read your messages (the end-to-end encryption prevents that), but it can log other data about you for marketing purposes, like the location of your phone.

4. Silence

The unfussy, no-frills Silence focuses on keeping your messages safe and secure, with other considerations – like animated animal stickers – some way down the priority list. It deals directly with SMS and MMS, rather than chat protocols that work over the web.

It is in fact a spin-off from Signal, and uses the same open source, ultra-secure encryption methods – regularly audited by security experts in public view to make sure the code hasn’t been cracked or unlocked by whatever government agency wants to get its hands on your conversation history. If you wanted to, you could use Silence and Signal together.

So you get all of the benefits of SMS/MMS, like the ability to use it without Wi-Fi, as well as all the drawbacks, like limited support for group chats and no video calling. As you’re using SMS/MMS, your phone network can tell who you’re texting, even if it can’t tell what’s being said thanks to the encryption applied.

To make sure everything is secured as it should be, you need to enter a unique passphrase to keep the app locked. On top of that, it can stop your communications being screen-shotted at the other end, for extra peace of mind. 

5. Facebook Messenger

That’s right – friendly old Facebook Messenger uses end-to-end encryption too, which means your messages can’t be intercepted by hackers, demanded by the government, or spied on by Facebook staff (yes, it’s the same Signal protocol used by WhatsApp and Silence). You do need to turn the feature on though, via the Secret Conversation setting you’ll find in the conversation options.

At the same time, of course, you’re contributing to the masses of data that Facebook holds on you, as you are with WhatsApp. The content of your messages is all safe, but Messenger will take note of who you’re chatting with and where from, which in Facebook’s eyes helps it to improve products and services. You should only use Messenger if you’re comfortable with Facebook’s data and privacy practices.

Outside of the encryption options, you get just about every feature you can imagine being packed into an instant messenger – the ability to share anything from a photo to your location, easy group chatting, stickers and GIFs, video calling, and so on. There’s even a range of simple games you can play inside the app.

You can’t fault Facebook Messenger from a usability point of view, but having to jump through an extra hoop to get encryption enabled is disappointing, and you can’t encrypt conversations you’ve already had. On the plus side, it’s unlikely you’ll have to tell your contacts to install another app, as they probably already have this set up.

http://www.techradar.com/news/best-encrypted-messaging-app-android

What do the school run, a bumpy field and long distance driving all have in common? They’re all easily handled by the Land Rover Discovery. 

This is a do-it-all 4×4 that feels just as home on the road as it does bouncing across rural fields. The Discovery puts practicality first, and while that means it’s not quite as visually alluring as the Range Rover fleet, the lower price tag makes it a little more accessible. 

We drove the Discovery HSE trim, which is towards the top end of the spec level and the on the road price, with a few optional extras, totaled over £60,000 ($70,000). 

However, the Discovery starts at £47,405, $52,090 (and the Sport model at £30,145, $37,795) if you can make do without a few of the toys and more premium styling points. 

What you looking at?

We’ll get this out of the way early, and we’re certainly not the first to comment on the somewhat questionable rear styling of the current Land Rover Discovery. 

Symmetry continues to be left by the wayside in the Discovery design studio and this generation of the car does look rather lopsided. 

From the front and sides it looks far more accomplished, almost encroaching on the Range Rover styling, which helps soften the blow of the rear. 

With two additional seats hidden in the floor of the trunk the Discovery is not only tall, it’s also long. It makes for a commanding presence on the road, but in cities things can be a little tighter. 

Thankfully there’s a reversing camera and parking sensors to help guide you into tight spots. 

Another nice feature when you switch the automatic transmission into reverse is the dipping of the wing mirrors, giving you a better view of kerbs, bay line or any hazard that may not be visible from the windows or rear camera. 

Land Rover Discovery HSE exterior gallery

Climb up, into the driving seat and you’re treated to a spacious cabin not only in the front, but also in the row behind, with plenty of legroom for five adults. 

While legroom for five passengers is great, the middle seat in second row isn’t overly comfortable for long journeys. 

Our middle seat passenger said that after about an hour it’s not a great place to be, but for short stints it’s useful and children are less likely to find fault with it. 

Open up the tailgate and you’re greeted with a huge space for all your luggage, golf clubs and even the family dog – plus there’s an array of buttons to the left. 

These can be used to deploy the two seats that fold into the floor, upping seating capacity of the Discovery to seven. 

The electronic controls make these seats much more user friendly than traditional manual offerings, as you don’t need to crawl into the car to get them into position. 

The middle row of seats can slide forwards to provide more legroom for the third row, but even when forward these additional chairs are best suited to children as it’s not as spacious.

Effortless drive-ability

The Land Rover Discovery dwarfs most cars on the road, but from the driving seat you wouldn’t necessarily know it. 

Sure, if you look out of the side window at the cars beside you, you’ll notice that 99% of the time you’re looking down on your fellow motorists, but eyes forward and foot pressed firmly on the gas the Discovery is effortless. 

The four wheel drive, eight speed automatic transmission and a hulking 3.0 liter Td6 turbocharged engine provides an impressive amount of propulsion, taking you from 0-60mph in 7.7 seconds and topping out at 130mph.

It can feel a little heavy in the corners, which is hardly surprising considering its size, but overall the Discovery is very driveable.

Back inside the cabin and there are a couple of handy slots above the cup holders to slide in your smartphone, ensuring it doesn’t going flying around the cabin.

There isn’t any Android Auto or Apple CarPlay integration here, with Land Rover using its own Touch Pro interface, and it’s very, very good.

Land Rover Discovery HSE interior gallery

The 10-inch touchscreen is responsive and intuitive. It doesn’t take a Computer Science graduate to work out what’s going on here, and pairing your phone via Bluetooth is equally as simple.

Once paired you can opt to stream music from your smartphone to the Discovery’s audio system, and you can control playback and volume using the on-wheel buttons. Our Discovery HSE came with a 380W Meridian system with 10 speakers, plus a dual channel subwoofer, which kicks out excellent quality audio.

The Discovery is also compatible with Land Rover’s InControl app, which allows you to access various vital statistics about your vehicle when you’re away from it.

Handy data such as the mileage and fuel level let you know if you need to leave a little earlier so you can fuel up ahead of a journey, while the ability to make sure all the windows are closed and the doors are locked is perfect for the security conscious.

Something else we found useful was the vehicle location map, meaning we could always find our way back to the car – and you can even flash the lights and sound the horn, all from your smartphone, if you’re really struggling to locate it.

There are more affordable SUVs, but the Land Rover Discovery offers a premium many rivals cannot match, along with an excellent ride and the ability to take on pretty much any terrain.

Then there’s Land Rover’s top-notch tech offering, from intuitive infotainment to a whole host of sensors, cameras and other driving aids that makes driving less taxing and more enjoyable.

If your budget stretches, and you’re after a little more practicality than a Range Rover, the Discovery is very well equipped.

• John McCann is getting behind the wheel to give you an alternative look at the wealth of cars – and the tech inside them – available today. From super-fast sports cars to tech-packed hatchbacks, he’ll take you through a range of makes, models, power and price tags in his regular TR Drives column.

http://www.techradar.com/news/land-rover-discovery-hse-over-ground-uneven-ground-rovering-free

With Fitbit scheduled to end official support for Pebble smartwatches at the end of June, an independent team of developers has put together a service called Rebble, with the aim of keeping user accounts, apps and devices active into the future.

The platform isn’t completely new, but with the deadline looming, users are being encouraged to get set up with Rebble before June 30 – even Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky has endorsed the new setup. Parts of Rebble will be free to use, with premium services like Weather and Dictation keeping the operation running.

“Our present focus is on replacing key pieces of the Pebble ecosystem: the app store, firmware, and mobile apps,” explains the Rebble FAQ page. “At a higher level, our goal is to maintain and advance Pebble functionality.”

The end of the road

The developers behind Rebble say they’re not going to have everything up and running by the start of next month, but that swapping to Rebble’s services from the official Pebble platform will only require clicking on a link when the time comes.

Once July arrives, the Pebble serves will go dark – the watches will keep working, but you won’t be able to access voice recognition, SMS and email replies, the app store or the Pebble forum. Tools used by developers to build new apps will be going away too. Rebble’s aim is to give a new lease of life to all of these features.

As you may remember, Fitbit bought Pebble back at the end of 2016, so the wind down has been a slow one for the once buoyant wearables company. Pebble’s DNA still lives on though – you can definitely see evidence of it in the Fitbit Versa.

Via The Verge

http://www.techradar.com/news/rebble-wants-to-keep-your-pebble-smartwatch-working