This privacy app may work for White House aides, but it's still a mystery

Endorsements are a solid way to vault a product into a new stratosphere, and there are perhaps few better endorsements than the White House. 

Signal and WhatsApp are the current darlings for anyone interested in sending secure texts on their phone, but an app called Confide got a huge — uh — signal boost on Monday when The Washington Post reported that staffers at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue were using it because they are afraid of being "accused of talking to the media."

But how exactly does Confide work, and how secure is it?

Confide's website stakes the app's appeal on three pillars. First, it claims "military-grade" encryption. Second, the texts disappear as soon as they're read. Third, your messages can't be screenshotted. This all fits with the app's motto of sorts, which is that they believe texts should be as private as "the spoken word."  Read more...