Apple is involved in a very public fight with the FBI about unlocking an iPhone 5c used by the terrorists behind the San Bernardino shooting. In addition to wanting Apple’s help in unlocking the iPhone in question, the FBI (and various other law enforcement agencies) also want Apple to create a “backdoor” into the company’s iOS mobile operating system, effectively bypassing and rendering Apple’s encryption efforts null and void.

Should a backdoor like this be created and fall into the wrong hands or it’s used unscrupulously, it could potentially leave iPhone apps like iMessage and FaceTime vulnerable to widespread government surveillance and hackers.

If the FBI triumphs over Apple, iPhone users — and users on any other platform for that matter — may have to look to third-party apps and services to safeguard their personal communications and data.

Here are eight apps that allow you to encrypt your text messages, voice and video calls, and photos and files regardless of whether or not any person or agency gains access to your iPhone:

Signal

A favorite of Edward Snowden’s, Signal for iOS and Android offers free secure, end-to-end encrypted text messages, group chat, and calls.

Silent Phone

Silent Phone offers end-to-end encrypted communications and secure file transfer for both iOS and Android. The paid app is available in a Basic and Plus version ($5 annual fee and $9.95 a month, respectively) and offers unlimited secure voice and text between members, up to 100MB secure file transfer, Burn functionality (providing the ability to choose when a message gets deleted on both ends), secure video calling, voicemail, and conference calling for up to six callers.

Cyph

Cyph, developed by two former SpaceX engineers, is a browser-based private voice, video, and file transfer service (an iOS app is in the works) that requires no downloads and no signup. You simply click ‘Start a new Cyph’ on the web page regardless of whether you’re on your laptop or mobile phone — the service is cross-platform and will work on any device.

According to the company’s web page, its end-to-end, client-side encryption method could theoretically guard against hacking attacks powered by a quantum computer — basically saying it would take hackers a very, very long time to crack.

Confide

Confide is a free app available for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, PC, and Android. Confide uses military-grade end-to-end encryption and all messages go through Transport Layer Security (TLS), preventing any possible man-in-the-middle attack.

What’s more, messages are ephemeral, meaning they disappear after they’ve been read once. “We delete them [messages] from our servers and wipe them from the device. No forwarding, no printing, no saving … no nothing,” says Confide.

The also prevents recipients from taking screenshots of a message and will even warn the sender if a screenshot is attempted.

Wickr Messenger

Wickr Inc. provides a range of secure communications services and their Wickr Messenger app is available for iOS and Android. Features include the ability to create groups, share videos and photos, leave voice messages, and send encrypted files with an expiration date.

Wickr’s platform uses “multiple layers of encryption to power peer-to-peer secure conversations” and, although the company will hand over the content of communications when presented a warrant by law enforcement, its claims its encryption technology “leaves the contents of any communications we might lawfully release undecipherable.”

Wire

In addition to offering encrypted voice calls, Wire Swiss GmbH announced last week that it rolled out end-to-end encryption for “all conversation content,” including text messages, video calls, photos, and sketches for its Wire secure messaging app (available for iOS, Android, OS X, and Windows).

According to the company, “Conversation content is encrypted with strong encryption on the sender’s device and only decrypted on the recipient’s device. Wire doesn’t hold the decryption keys and our software contains no backdoor. Your data is your data — Wire has no access to it.”

Cryptomator

Cryptomator is a bit different from the other apps and services on this list. It focuses on file encryption and acts as a safety layer between your device and cloud storage services like iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive.

Cryptomator encrypts your files (iOS, Windows, OS X, and Linux) before they reach whatever cloud storage solution you are using. Local encryption means your data is safe should someone gain access to your cloud storage account. Cryptomator uses  AES encryption with 256-bit key length and encryption is carried out client-side, so data is never shared with an online service.

The desktop versions of Cryptomator are provided on a “pay what you want” basis while the iOS version costs $1.99.

Pryvate

Pryvate is available in a free ‘Lite’ version or as a paid app (from $5.62 a month) and promises government-grade encryption to ensure secure communications across voice, conference and video calls, instant messenger, and email and file storage.  

The company promises that the app does not establish direct trust relationships with any servers or middleware, meaning your communications are never stored anywhere.

Like Confide, Pryvate offers screenshot notifications and there’s a self-destructing instant messaging feature in the works (will be included in Pryvate Lite).

Image credit: Matthew Keys, Flickr