Privacy in a messenger: 9 options you should start using today
The world celebrated Privacy day or Data Protection Day on January 28th. A good reason to make sure your personal data and the data you share online is protected with the best available technologies. Our digital activities are the reflection of our real lives and interests, and sometimes your browsing history knows more about you than your best friend. Your phone keeps track of the locations where you spend time, your frequent contacts and your interests. The more you share willingly or unconsciously, the more your data is exposed to abuse. How to stay on the safe side?
In VIPole, your data is secure by default, encrypted end-to-end and stored encrypted on devices and on the server. Your social connections and conversations stay beyond the reach of random stalkers, corporations, advertisers and mass surveillance. You can always check whether your local backup is encrypted, and there are plenty of opportunities to additionally protect your privacy, customizing the service for your needs.
Personal space protection applies to the internet as well. As here in VIPole we deeply value privacy, we’ve developed advanced features that safeguard data from prying eyes. You might have heard about them, but here is a detailed overview that will empower you to stay connected and still distanced when necessary.
1. Take words back whenever you wish by managing chat history
In VIPole, you always control what you’ve send and you can edit and delete your messages so that they are changed respectively for all users in the chat. If you’ve accidentally sent a wrong file — delete it immediately, and it will become unavailable for the people to whom it was not intended. There are options for deleting history in a certain chat for a certain time, and when needed you can wipe the full history to leave no traces of your conversations with someone.
There is a burning mode for everything you share in chats, including files of all types and messages. When you set it, your messages are deleted after the set period — from a minute to 3 months. Ensure that they vanish into oblivion, if you prefer these conversations to be only real-time in a Snapchat style.
2. Contact list management: be selective
VIPole was made to connect you securely with colleagues, friends and family, and not to collect your data and to expose it to advertisers and stalkers. This is why to contact you people need to know your exact login, they can’t find you by your real name, your employer, your friends and interests like it’s common in social media. In VIPole, you can additionally limit the contact list to the people you know personally by configuring special authorization settings. By default, all VIPole users can send authorization requests to you. If you wish, you can limit the circle of people who can contact you in the Security tab of desktop and mobile applications.
Authorization options:
- Allow all VIPole users send authorization requests to you.
- Set a question for potential contacts.
- Prohibit everyone to send authorization requests to you.
3. Use hidden contacts for your secret friends
If a certain user is in your contact list, this doesn’t mean that your other acquaintances and the people that pass by your computer need to know about, does it? In VIPole, you can protect your most private contacts and group chats with additional passwords, and they will be hidden from the visible list until the moment you need to talk to them.
To hide a contact:
- Right-click on the contact or group chat that you wish to hide and go to > Security > Hidden contact.
- To unhide contacts, click on the options icon located above the contacts, click on «Show hidden contacts» and enter the unlock code.
On iOS and Android, hiding and unhiding options are in the security tab.
Make sure to remember the unlock code — you may store it in the password manager.
4. Black list: never again
If there is somebody that you used to know in VIPole, whom you would rather never see again — the black list will help you to forget about them forever — or until you decide to resume communication. You are completely unavailable for blacklisted users and they can’t send messages to you. They are not notified that you’ve added them to the black list, they just see that you are always offline. Note, that if you remove users from the black list, the messages they have sent while they were blacklisted are not delivered.
- To add a user to the black list on Windows, Linux, Mac OS: right-click on the name in the list of contacts > Blacklist.
- To add a user to the black list on Android: tap on the contact menu (three dots in the upper right corner) > Security > In blacklist.
- To add a user to the black list on iOS: tap on the contact name on the top of the chat > Security > Black list.
To remove a user from the blacklist: uncheck the Blacklist option.
5. Lock and logout modes: we’ve got you covered
Your phones and tablets are a treasure trove of personal data. When you leave your devices unlocked — it’s almost like leaving your house with the door open. Unattended logged in devices provide opportunities for misuse of sensitive data, which is especially important when you work in an industry with strict confidentiality regulations. Configure your VIPole security settings in order to automatically lock your devices after inactivity for a certain amount of time.
- Auto lock: Set the preferable time for locking VIPole automatically in the Security tab of your device. You will need to enter a password to unlock the app — your password, your secret phrase, or a specially set unlock code.
- Auto logout: Choose the suitable mode for auto logout in the Security tab of desktop and mobile devices. Set the time when your profile will be closed automatically. The time can be set separately on all desktop and mobile devices. Your profile will be closed in case of inactivity or disconnection.
- Fast lock : available on desktop applications and on Android. On Windows, Linux, Mac OS: Ctrl+1 (or Main menu — Lock application). On Android: Menu with three dots -> Lock icon.
6. Stay informed, not distracted with customizable notifications
While messengers perfectly connect you with the team, they may disconnect you from your job with dozens of disturbing notifications flashing on the screen. If you turn them off completely — you risk to miss those that really require your answer. How to set priorities? Configure a special mode for notifications from every chat. There are three options:
- Show all incoming messages.
- Show only the messages addressed to you.
- Disable notifications.
7. IP hiding, during calls and also always
When you send messages and share files in VIPole, your IP is always hidden because your data is transmitted through VIPole server. However, when you call a user, data transmission channel is by default established directly, and with certain malicious software your contacts can identify your IP. To avoid this, you can always hide your IP or protect it from certain users. To do this, go to the Security tab and select the convenient mode: hiding IP from all contacts or adjustable per contact. To configure IP hiding for a contact individually, select the IP hiding option in this user’s individual security settings tab. In addition, you can hide your IP address during incoming calls selectively, the option is available on all devices when you see the incoming call.
8. Invisibility mode and managing your status
If you happen to have annoying acquaintances who think that if you are online — you are ready for a small talk with them — VIPole security settings are here to rescue you. Here you can set your visible status for all contacts or for chosen contacts. Like, you can be visible for everyone except that one extremely social acquaintance.
- In the upper left corner of the desktop app, choose the status that will be currently displayed to your contacts: online, away, extended away, busy, offline, or invisible.
- Set an individual security mode for contacts by right clicking on the user in the contact list > Visibility > Normal/Invisible/Visible. If you choose visible, this contact can see your status when you are invisible, if you choose invisible, your status will be always Offline for this contact.
In the iOS app, you can change your default status in the profile tab. To set an individual security mode for a contact, open the chat with a user, tap on the panel on the top with this user’s name > Security > Visibility > Normal/Invisible/Visible.
To change your default status on Android, tap on the shield icon that you see in the upper right corner of the app. For individual security settings, open the chat with a user, tap on the menu with three dots in the upper right corner of the app > Security > Normal/Visible/Invisible.
9. Fake secret phrase: just in case of emergency
Access to your data in VIPole is protected by your password and your secret phrase that you create, it is not stored anywhere and it is not known even to the service provider. This ensures protection from brute force attacks, but if there is a risk that someone is watching you authorize — you can take advantage of the fake secret phrase mode. Thus, you will be prepared for narrow escapes. The fake secret phrase mode is set in the Security tab of desktop and mobile apps, select the option that suits you best:
- Fake secret phrase –> program crash.
- Fake secret phrase –> local profile removing and program crash.
Communicate securely to preserve your privacy
As corporations and governments aim to collect as much data about people as possible, it’s important to maintain privacy, and we can do it.
Staying private allows to protect reputation, personal and professional connections, create the social boundaries we need and provides freedom for political and social activities and confidential conversations. In addition, configuring privacy settings in a messenger helps to balance your responsibilities with your interests and the desire of the peace of mind.
In VIPole, nobody can learn more about you that you allow them to, here your personal data and conversations are truly private.
VIPole offers end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration solutions for teams and enterprises dealing with commercially or personally sensitive information, and individuals wishing to protect themselves from hackers, identity thieves and malware. More at www.vipole.com
