Snapchat Alternative Privatext Comes To Android

Snapchat lost a good deal of trust from its user base recently after hackers leaked a database containing some 4.6 million phone numbers. The company was quick to apologize and instituted a verification system to filter out bot traffic, but researchers are calling the new security measures a joke and have already built tools to bypass it.

As Snapchat flounders, others have been quick to step up with their own crypto-texting platforms. Privatext, which launched last year on iOS and has now been ported to Android is one of several Snapchat alternatives looking to make a splash.

“Privatext is for smartphone users who value their privacy and aren’t comfortable with every message they ever send being saved permanently. People may look to lump us in with other trending apps such as Snapchat because one of our many features is expiring picture messaging, but while other apps are catering to kids sharing pictures, Privatext is ushering in a communication revolution. Privatext isn’t for 12 year olds taking selfies. It’s for adults looking for a fast, simple, and exciting way to communicate with their friends, colleagues and family members without strangers having access to their messages. Having Privatext is a symbol of status. It means you’re important enough to send messages that are worth keeping private. If you’ve ever set a password on your phone, you should be using Privatext,”said Privatext CEO Justin Schwartz in a press statement.

While it’s doubtful that Privatext is a “symbol of status” in most social circles, it’s nonetheless pretty savvy marketing to position the app as a grown-up analog to Snapchat. In terms of actual functionality, you should download it yourself to gauge the differences, but there a few that are evident from the product description.

For one, Privatext promises “confirmation texting,” which you might appreciate if you’ve ever accidently sent a Snapchat to the wrong person. The company also says that its app utilizes encoding that prevents messages from being stored or intercepted, but we’ll let that claim marinate with the security researchers for a while before giving it much credence.