This is a comparison of voice over IP (VoIP) software used to conduct telephone-like voice conversations across Internet Protocol (IP) based networks. For residential markets, voice over IP phone service is often cheaper than traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) service and can remove geographic restrictions to telephone numbers, e.g., have a PSTN phone number in a New York area code ring in Tokyo.
Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance, though its most widely used version is primarily developed by Google. It was unveiled in November 2007, with the first commercial Android device, the HTC Dream, being launched in September 2008.
Jon Callas is an American computer security expert, software engineer, user experience designer, and technologist who is the co-founder and former CTO of the global encrypted communications service Silent Circle. He has held major positions at Digital Equipment Corporation, Apple, PGP, and Entrust, and is considered "one of the most respected and well-known names in the mobile security industry." Callas is credited with creating several Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards, including OpenPGP, DKIM, and ZRTP, which he wrote. Prior to his work at Entrust, he was Chief Technical Officer and co-founder of PGP Corporation and the former Chief Technical Officer of Entrust.
UC Browser is a web browser developed by mobile internet company UCWeb, a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group. It was the most popular mobile browser in India and Indonesia, and the second most popular one in China as of 2017. Its world-wide browser share as of May 2022 is 0.86% overall according to StatCounter.
Moxie Marlinspike is an American entrepreneur, cryptographer, and computer security researcher. Marlinspike is the creator of Signal, co-founder of the Signal Technology Foundation, and served as the first CEO of Signal Messenger LLC. He is also a co-author of the Signal Protocol encryption used by Signal, WhatsApp, Google Messages, Facebook Messenger, and Skype.
GeeksPhone was a Spanish smartphone company founded in 2009. GeeksPhone's most notable products are open Android phones and developer devices of Firefox OS.
The Dolphin Browser is a web browser for the Android and iOS operating systems developed by MoboTap Inc. It was one of the first alternative browsers for the Android platform that introduced support for multi-touch gestures. Dolphin Browser uses its native platform's default browser engine.
Orbot is a free proxy app that provides anonymity on the Internet for users of the Android and iOS operating systems. It allows traffic from apps such as web browsers, email clients, map programs, and others to be routed via the Tor network.
Silent Circle is an encrypted communications firm based in Washington DC. Silent Circle provides multi-platform secure communication services for mobile devices and desktop. Launched October 16, 2012, the company operates under a subscription business model. The encryption part of the software used is free software/open source and peer-reviewed. For the remaining parts of Silent Phone and Silent Text, the source code is available on GitHub, but under proprietary software licenses.
Vincent (Vinnie) Moscaritolo is a retired American computer security expert known for his work in encryption applications for mobile devices. After decades in the computer industry, he now volunteers as a search and rescue professional. He holds NREMT, WFR, and Amateur Radio Extra Class and a General Radiotelephone Operator with Ships Radar License.
The Guardian Project is a global collective of software developers, designers, advocates, activists, and trainers who develop open-source mobile security software and operating system enhancements. They also create customized mobile devices to help individuals communicate more freely and protect themselves from intrusion and monitoring. The effort specifically focuses on users who live or work in high-risk situations and who often face constant surveillance and intrusion attempts into their mobile devices and communication streams.
The Blackphone is a smartphone built to ensure privacy, developed by SGP Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Silent Circle. Originally, SGP Technologies was a joint venture between the makers of GeeksPhone and Silent Circle. Marketing is focused upon business users, stressing that employees often conduct business using private devices and services that are not secure and that the Blackphone service readily provides users with options that ensure confidentiality when needed. Blackphone provides Internet access through VPN. The device runs a modified version of Android called SilentOS that comes with a bundle of security-minded tools.
TextSecure was an encrypted messaging application for Android that was developed from 2010 to 2015. It was a predecessor to Signal and the first application to use the Signal Protocol, which has since been implemented into WhatsApp and other applications. TextSecure used end-to-end encryption to secure the transmission of text messages, group messages, attachments and media messages to other TextSecure users.
Open Whisper Systems was a software development group that was founded by Moxie Marlinspike in 2013. The group picked up the open source development of TextSecure and RedPhone, and was later responsible for starting the development of the Signal Protocol and the Signal messaging app. In 2018, Signal Messenger was incorporated as an LLC by Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton and then rolled under the independent 501c3 non-profit Signal Technology Foundation. Today, the Signal app is developed by Signal Messenger LLC, which is funded by the Signal Technology Foundation.
Proton Mail is an end-to-end encrypted email service founded in 2013 headquartered in Plan-les-Ouates, Switzerland. It uses client-side encryption to protect email content and user data before they are sent to Proton Mail servers, unlike other common email providers such as Gmail and Outlook.com. The service can be accessed through a webmail client, the Tor network, or dedicated iOS and Android apps.
Signal is an encrypted messaging service for instant messaging, voice, and video calls. The instant messaging function includes sending text, voice notes, images, videos, and other files. Communication may be one-to-one between users, or for group messaging.
pretty Easy privacy is a pluggable data encryption and verification system, which provides automatic cryptographic key management through a set of libraries for written digital communications. Its main goal is to make end-to-end encryption the default in written digital communications for all users in the easiest way possible and on the channels they already make use of, including e-mails, SMS, or other types of messages.
The BlackBerry Priv is a slider smartphone developed by BlackBerry Limited. Following a series of leaks, it was officially announced by BlackBerry CEO John Chen on September 25, 2015, with pre-orders opening on October 23, 2015, for a release on November 6, 2015.
Google Allo was an instant messaging mobile app by Google for the Android and iOS mobile operating systems, with a web client available on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera. It closed on March 12, 2019.
A Tor Phone refers to the concept of a smartphone that routes internet connections through the Tor network. The first Tor Phone was a prototype smartphone released in 2016 by The Tor Project, which gave users the ability to route internet connections through Tor for anonymity. Work on Tor Phone was launched in 2014, and a "Tor-enabled Android phone prototype" was announced in 2016. The project was led by Mike Perry, Tor Browser lead developer. As of February 2022 or earlier, Orbot can be used to route internet traffic through Tor network.
