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Threema is an alternative to WhatsApp and, unlike Signal, it is not tied to a phone number. Image: EPA / EPA
Swiss Messaging App Threema Goes Open Source Announces Long-awaited Feature
The Swiss messaging app Threema, which opposes the supremacy of WhatsApp, Telegram or Facebook Messenger, has found an investor to expand its business. At the same time, Threema developers announced that Messenger, which is particularly popular in Switzerland and Germany, will be open source. Also, Threema should be able to use multiple devices, including a PC, in parallel in the future.
Threema wants to grow more with the investor
After an intense construction phase, with the entry of the German-Swiss investment company Afinum Management AG from Zurich, Threema was laying the foundation for continuity, further growth and acceleration of product development. Afinum fully shares Threema’s values regarding security and privacy. The additional resources obtained through this partnership allowed Threema to grow beyond the German-speaking part of Europe.
The three founders and software developers, Manuel Kasper, Silvan Engeler and Martin Blatter, would retain a substantial stake in the company and continue to lead Threema.
Threema wird open source
In the coming months, Threema will fully disclose the application’s source code and enable playable versions of the application (“builds”), the developers emphasized. “This comprehensive transparency allows everyone to independently verify Threema’s security and functionality and verify that the published source code matches the installed application.”
Threema is accepting a criticism that data protection activists have repeatedly made in the past. Threema’s claims to protect privacy can only be verified if the application code is open source, he said.
Threema can be used in multiple devices in parallel
At the same time, the manufacturers of Threema announced a new function: in the future, Threema will be able to be used on several devices in parallel, also on the PC and independently of the smartphone. Unlike other solutions, no trace of personal data would be left on a server. Thanks to this technology, Threema can be used in the future on a PC without a smartphone.
(oli / sda / awp / dpa)
