Message permanence
ChatVia
Kept by default: history lives on the server, not just your phone
- On-device; lost without a working device backup
- Signal
- On-device by default; minimal server retention
- Telegram
- Cloud chats kept on Telegram servers
ChatVia vs WhatsApp, Signal & Telegram
ChatVia is built to keep conversations: permanent, searchable across years, and stored in India. WhatsApp and Signal lead on end-to-end encryption today; ChatVia is honest that its full end-to-end model ships at v1.0. Here's a fair, side-by-side look. Defaults and public information as of June 2026.
How ChatVia compares, dimension by dimension
Full-text search across years
ChatVia
Yes, search years of messages and files instantly
- Limited to what is on the current device
- Signal
- Limited to what is on the current device
- Telegram
- Yes, for cloud chats
Data residency (India)
ChatVia
Stored on servers physically inside India
- Meta global infrastructure
- Signal
- Servers operated by Signal (US non-profit)
- Telegram
- Distributed global infrastructure
Pricing model
ChatVia
Storage-only: no per-user, per-message or per-seat fees; free tier at launch
- Free
- Signal
- Free (donation-funded non-profit)
- Telegram
- Free; optional paid Premium tier
Encryption (today)
ChatVia
Encrypted at rest (AES-256-GCM) + in transit; full end-to-end encryption ships at v1.0 with a third-party audit
- End-to-end encrypted by default
- Signal
- End-to-end encrypted by default
- Telegram
- Cloud chats are not end-to-end encrypted; only opt-in Secret Chats are
Operator access to messages (today)
ChatVia
Yes: operators retain technical access for incident response until v1.0 E2E encryption ships
- No: provider cannot read message content
- Signal
- No: provider cannot read message content
- Telegram
- Yes for cloud chats; no for Secret Chats
Cross-device history
ChatVia
Rehydrates automatically on every new device
- Companion devices; history not fully carried over
- Signal
- Linked devices; limited history transfer
- Telegram
- Full history on every device (cloud chats)
Delete means delete
ChatVia
Permanently delete any message, file or conversation
- Delete for everyone within a time window
- Signal
- Delete for everyone; disappearing messages
- Telegram
- Delete for everyone, any time (cloud chats)
Comparison reflects default configurations and publicly available information as of June 2026; rival apps may add features over time. For ChatVia's exact security posture today and at v1.0, see the security page. More on the philosophy: why ChatVia was built to keep.
Built to keep, not just to send.
If you want a messenger where your conversations are kept permanently, searchable for years, and stored in India, ChatVia is built for that. If end-to-end encryption today is your single hard requirement, Signal or WhatsApp lead there now, and ChatVia's full end-to-end model ships at v1.0 alongside a third-party audit.
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The future of communication ownership.
Conversations are how we live and how we work. They should be secure, searchable, permanent, and yours, without backups, without migrations, without loss. Communication belongs to the people who create it.
