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Groups

Group chats and community spaces multiply both the value and the risk of a conversation: more people means more places your words can travel. The goal here is to organise safely, choose platforms that encrypt group content, manage membership carefully, and avoid tools that expose every participant's identity or metadata. These guides are written for organisers, families, and communities alike.

Tools compared

Can the platform (or an admin) read the whole room?

Readable by the provider
  • DiscordVisit discord.com

    Not end-to-end encrypted; Discord and server admins can read messages, and content is scannable.

  • Slack

    Workspace content is readable by Slack and by workspace owners. Built for work, not confidentiality.

  • Facebook Groups

    Public or private, the content lives on Meta's servers in a readable form.

  • Telegram groups & channels

    Not end-to-end encrypted at any size; Telegram holds the keys regardless of how private the group feels.

Encrypted, with caveats
  • WhatsApp groups

    Group messages are end-to-end encrypted, but Meta still sees membership and metadata.

End-to-end encrypted
  • Signal groupsVisit signal.org

    End-to-end encrypted group messaging and calls; even group membership is protected by Signal's private-group design.

  • Matrix / ElementVisit element.io

    Open, federated chat with end-to-end encrypted rooms. You can self-host for full control.

  • Olvid groupsVisit olvid.io

    End-to-end encrypted groups with no central user directory.

Verified July 2026 and not exhaustive. “Readable by the provider” means the content can, in principle, be scanned or handed over. We take no money from any product listed here; where a tool sits can change, so check its current documentation.

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