Top Apps with Hidden Chat Features for Private Messaging

Apps with hidden chat features are primarily designed for users to secretly chat with others. Some are traditional messaging apps with secret message features like hide chats, end-to-end encryption, etc., while many are built to look like games.

Regardless, people might use these apps for multiple reasons. They might seek privacy from their siblings, establish a private space, or engage in illicit affairs. Unfortunately, most of their users are kids and teenagers. And although these apps offer anonymity, they are not safe for kids.

This guide lists the ten most popular apps with hidden chat features that parents might want to watch out for. It also details how to detect these apps and keep the kids safe.

Part 1. What Are Hidden Chat Features? Why It May Be Dangerous for Kids?

The hidden chat feature on apps allows users to keep their conversations private and secret. Many popular messaging apps have hidden chat features. Some aren’t visible on the main app drawers, while others look like games. Here are some common chat functions of these hidden messaging apps:

1 End-to-End Encryption: This feature ensures the message is viewable only to the sender and recipient.

2 Self-Destructing Messages: With this, users can choose to clear out the messages after a certain amount of time.

3 Secure File Sharing: It offers a safe platform for users to share and exchange documents and media files.

4 No Data Logging: Most of these secret apps organize messages as documents and do not save them on servers, which ensures communication security for users.

Although these are designed for users' safety and privacy, they might appeal to kids as an app for chatting with others without your knowledge.

The danger of using an app to hide text messages is that predators might use it to secretly communicate with your kids. The private nature of these also allows kids to engage with strangers, discuss inappropriate topics, or hide bullying.

According to a study, around 22% of children in the age group of 12-18 reported bullying online or via text. In comparison, 16% of the high-school students have been the victims this year. It’s, therefore, crucial for parents to keep a tab on these apps to protect their children.

Part 2. Popular 5 Apps with Hidden Chat Features

This section lists the five popular apps with hidden chat features for iPhone and Android and discusses the features so that, as a parent, you know what to look out for.

1. WhatsApp

WhatsApp is one of the most popular and free apps with a hidden chat feature. Owned by Meta, it is a stand-alone messaging app that allows people to connect with users worldwide. The app is easy to use and supports end-to-end encryption. That is, user security and communication privacy with this app are guaranteed. Its features include:

1 Supports chat messages, voice calls, and video calls. You can also share and exchange any type of file with others.

2 Disappearing messages are the messages that vanish after a set amount of time.

3 WhatsApp's chat lock feature allows users to hide their private chats in a folder, and a password or biometric is required to access them.

4 You can also delete a message to keep it hidden from everyone.

5 End-to-end encryption secures a chat from unwanted access.

2. Instagram

Instagram is a social media app where users can share photos and videos displayed on the main feed. You can also upload your media files or share posts on stories, which disappear after a day. Not to mention, you can message others on this platform, and it certainly has many features that qualify it as a hidden message app.

1 Share short-form videos or reels, stories, carousals, images, or long videos with your followers.

2 Its live feature lets you stream videos to connect with your followers in real time.

3 The hidden messages feature filters out the messages, and these don’t appear on the list.

4 Vanish mode allows users to send messages that disappear after a set amount of time.

3. Snapchat

Snapchat is another messaging app that gained popularity through its temporary factor. Here, people can share photos and videos, called snaps, which, once viewed, disappear after a few seconds. Similarly, chats also disappear, making it a popular app with hidden messaging features on Android and iPhone. Other features of Snapchat include:

1 Snapchat stories, where a public post stays for 24 hours.

2 Discover feature lets you access content from various brands, publishers, and influencers.

3 Messages automatically delete after a few hours of being opened, and saved messages disappear after a month.

4. Telegram

Telegram is a WhatsApp-like messaging app but more feature-rich. It allows the creation of a group of up to 200,000 members and a broadcast channel with unlimited audiences. Its end-to-end encryption ensures secure transfer of messages as well as voice and video calls. Here’s what more it offers:

1 Telegram lets you lock your chats, which are accessible only with a unique PIN or biometrics.

2 A secret chat feature is end-to-end encrypted and doesn’t allow any third-party access.

3 You can set a timer on messages, after which they’ll be deleted.

4 Telegram support bots are small programs that can perform a specific set of tasks and interact with users.

5 You can schedule your messages to reach the person at a specific time or date.

5. Viber

Viber might seem like a harmless social network app that lets you send messages, media, GIFs, and make voice and video calls, but it can be a great secret app. Features like hide chats and secret chats let users interact with anyone without anyone’s knowledge. Some of its other features include:

1 Its hide chat feature lets you keep certain conversations private.

2 Turning the secret chat feature on deletes your messages after a set period.

3 You can create custom stickers to share with your contacts.

4 Viber lets you delete any message from the chats.

Part 3. Top 5 Secret Messaging Apps That Look Like Games

Other than the apps mentioned above, plenty of paid and free hidden messaging apps that look like games are available. Here are some of the popular ones:

1. Plato

Plato is a popular app disguised as a multiplayer gaming platform with more than 50 games. Users can play and even chat with others through text or voice messages. This way, you will never know if your kids are playing or secretly chatting with others. Some of its features include:

1 Plato lets you play games with friends, make new friends in public chat rooms, or compete with others.

2 Users can request the deletion of their data so it isn’t viewable to anyone.

3 The app is ad-free by default, so your kids can play at their own pace.

4 Plato combines chat and play so users can connect, chat, and play with others.

2. Bunch

Bunch is yet another popular hidden messaging app available on iOS and Android devices. It looks like a gaming app, so you can play many free games. In addition, it supports texting, voice conversation, and live streaming.

1 Bunch has more than hundreds of mini-games such as Ludo, Psych!, Bunch Pool, and others.

2 You can party up with your friends over a video call and jump into playing games together.

3 Bunch Overlay is an Android-exclusive feature that lets you play games with your friends on video chat and Bunch running in the background.

3. PlayJoy

PlayJoy combines gaming and secret messaging features to become one of the popular choices among teenagers. It pairs you up with any friend or stranger to play games and chat with. Your child can also hide or delete the messages to stay out of your sight.

1 You can play games like Ludo, Bingo, Dominoes, UNO, and similar ones and chat with other players at the same time.

2 You can compete with users worldwide and earn coins that are usable in the app.

3 A private album feature allows users to store their media files, only to be accessed by a passcode.

4 It supports features like self-destructing messages and end-to-end encryption to hide the messages.

4. Yubo

Yubo is a platform that people use more to chat than play games. Once you log into the app, there’s a swipe feature that lets you discover new friends, and if both swipe right, you can chat with each other or play games at the same time. It has other features as well, which are as follows:

1 Live streaming is a core Yubo feature. Users can create their own live streams with up to 10 people.

2 Unlike other social media apps, Yubo focuses on direct connections through swiping and live interactions.

3 The platform offers many games, such as Would You Rather, To be Honest, and others, for users to play.

5. Rec Room

Rec Room is a unique platform that blends game-building with chat elements and even has many pre-built games. You can text or voice chat with your friends, create a game, and play it with them. Also, you can join a room to meet people worldwide or create a room and invite others. Its features include:

1 Users can build and play games with friends and others worldwide. They can also chat about games or any other topic.

2 It boasts cross-platform compatibility- from phones to VR headsets.

Part 4. How to Find Secret Chat Apps on Your Kid’s Device

Kids are vulnerable to scams, hacks, and cyberbullying, and exposure to any of the above-mentioned apps can be dangerous. It’s thereby crucial for parents to keep a tab on their kid’s device and do the following to find any hidden messaging apps:

Use a Phone Monitoring App like FamiGuard Pro

It is legal to secretly monitor your loved one’s phone as long as you are doing it to keep them safe. And using a phone monitoring app is the best way. FamiGuard Pro is a comprehensive parental control app that lets parents monitor and manage their kid’s devices remotely. You can monitor their online activities and block potentially harmful apps to keep them safe.

1 If you concern that your child may install those secret messaging apps like games on their phones, you can check App Library with FamiGuard Pro.

2 You can monitor popular social apps' chats with FamiGuard Pro when your kids use popular social apps' hidden chat features. Parents don't need to worry about this problem with the help of parental control app like FamiGuard Pro.

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Check Phone's App Library

You can also manually check your child’s phone to find the hidden apps. As many apps do not show up on the home screen or app drawers, you might need to browse and look into the app library. This method, however, is a bit lengthy, and today’s tech-savvy generation might find valuable tips to hide the apps even better. For these reasons, a parental monitoring app like FamiGuard Pro is recommended over manual searches.

Conclusion

Secret messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, and others allow users to send private messages and even delete them. At the same time, others like PlayJoy, Pluto, Hago, and others let you play and chat with others simultaneously. Irrespective of how they function, these apps with hidden chat features are dangerous for kids. So, use a phone monitoring app like FamiGuard Pro to find and block these apps. Besides that, the app lets you track your kids’ location, calls, messages, and other online activities.

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