So yesterday a very user-friendly mobile application called "Confide" was released that claims to be "your off-the-record messenger"[1]. It has been getting a ton of press attention recently and has raised $1.9m in seed funding[2].
It claims "with end-to-end encryption and disappearing messages, Confide is bringing off-the-record conversations online". What do people think of this? It is obviously a joke and a no-go to be used as something to be relied on for encrypted communications given that there is literally no information about the encryption used and it's closed sourced/can't be verified. However, the interesting thing about this is that it seems to be more focused around preventing the client itself from archiving chat messages rather than the server. For example, it boasts "screenshot protection" (Snapchat style?), and the FAQ states "more specifically, we think common use cases will include: Job referrals, HR issues, deal discussions, and even some good-natured office gossip"[3]. Nevertheless, the unverifiable claims it make about encryption are worrying, and what's more worrying is a future of multi-million dollar funded weak sauce "encryption" applications that give a false sense of security that feed on an actual desire by users for privacy following the NSA leaks, that are more successful at attracting users than open source alternatives that are verifiable secure, thanks to the vast amount of resources they have in marketing. "Confide has raised $1.9 million in seed funding from WGI Group, Google Ventures, First Round Capital, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures, CrunchFund, Lakestar, Marker, David Tisch’s BoxGroup, Yelp CEO and co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman, Entourage creator Doug Ellin, and Access Hollywood host Billy Bush."[4] [1] https://getconfide.com/ [2] http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/04/confide-1-9m/ [3] https://getconfide.com/faq [4] http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/24/confide-android/ -- Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable on Google. Violations of list guidelines will get you moderated: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech. Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at [email protected].
