Is Zangi safe?
Zangi
Zangi asks for less personal data than almost any messenger, with no phone number, email, address book upload or ads. The weakness is proof. Its encryption and "no data collection" claims come with no published protocol or audit, and its App Store label says it collects nothing while its policy lists device data.
#4of 15 in Messaging and calls
Medium confidence- Company
- Secret Phone, Inc. (Delaware law, Armenian courts)
- Sign-up
- Random 10-digit Zangi number; no phone number or email
- Encryption claim
- End-to-end AES-GCM 256 for chats, groups and calls, by default
- Independent audit
- None published
- App Store label
- Data Not Collected (policy lists device ID and push token)
- India
- Reported among 14 messengers blocked under Section 69A, May 2023
- Price
- Free; Premium US$6.99 a month or US$59.99 a year
- Age rating
- 4+ (App Store)
How the score breaks down
The overall score is the weighted average of these factors. Scoring rules
Privacy30% of score
72 out of 100, GoodNo phone number, email or address book upload, and no ads. Apple's label says no data is collected, but the privacy policy says Zangi stores your country code, push token, device ID, model, OS and app version on its servers, and can hand them over on a court order.
Security30% of score
58 out of 100, FairZangi says messages, files, groups and calls are End-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary by default with AES-GCM 256 and never stored on its servers. It names a cipher, not a protocol, and publishes no specification, key-verification method or independent audit. Passwords are optional and cannot be recovered.
Transparency and control15% of score
62 out of 100, FairAccounts can be deleted in the app, chat history lives only on the phone, and online, typing and seen status can be hidden. The policy page carries a 2016 effective date, gives no retention period, still says access requests may cost a fee, and shows a cookie notice naming Stack Exchange.
Scams and harmful content15% of score
60 out of 100, FairThere is no public search, so strangers need your exact Zangi number. But anyone with it can add you to a group, group members can message you directly, and reported accounts are removed automatically without human review. Apple rates it 4+ and the policy sets no minimum age.
Regulatory record10% of score
85 out of 100, ExcellentWe found no privacy or consumer-protection fine or order against Zangi, and no sign that a major regulator has examined it. India reportedly blocked it with 13 other messengers in May 2023 because agencies could not reach the companies; that was not a privacy finding.
Is Zangi safe?
Zangi is a reasonable choice if your main worry is handing your phone number and contacts to yet another company. You sign up without a SIM card, phone number or email, nobody can look you up, and there are no ads. We score it 66/100, just below WhatsApp (67) and far below Signal (92) and Threema (90).
The gap with Signal and Threema is not about data. It is about evidence. Those apps publish their protocols and have been audited; Zangi asks you to take its word.
What Zangi claims, and what we could check
Zangi markets itself on three promises: no data collection, End-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary and no messages stored on its servers. Here is how they hold up against its own documents.
| Claim | What the evidence shows |
|---|---|
| "No data collection" | Both store labels say no data is collected. The privacy policy says sign-up records your country code, push token, device ID, device model, OS and app version on Zangi's servers. |
| End-to-end encryption for everything | Zangi's FAQ says messages, files, group chats and calls are encrypted automatically. No protocol, key-verification method or audit is published. |
| Messages never stored on servers | Zangi says chats live only on the sender's and recipient's phones and it keeps no cloud backup. It does not explain how messages reach a phone that is offline. |
| Nothing to hand to police | On a subpoena or court order, the policy lists registration and deletion dates, profile name and bio, Premium details, device data and push token. |
None of this shows Zangi is reading messages. It shows that the "no data" line is marketing shorthand, and that the encryption cannot be verified by anyone outside the company.
How strong is Zangi's encryption?
We do not know, and neither does anyone else in public. Zangi's store listing says it uses "End-to-End AES-GCM 256". AES-GCM is a sound cipher, but naming it is like naming the lock on a door without saying who has the keys. The hard parts of messenger security are key exchange, forward secrecy and letting you check that you are talking to the right person, and Zangi documents none of them. Signal, WhatsApp, Threema and Viber all publish at least a technical overview.
Account security is also thin. A password is optional, there is no second factor, and Zangi cannot reset a forgotten password because it holds nothing to verify you. One account works on one device only. That protects against someone quietly adding a second device, but it means a lost phone without a password is a lost account.
We found no reported breach of Zangi.
Strangers, groups and reports
Because there is no public directory, a stranger needs your exact Zangi number to reach you. That is better than phone-number messengers, where anyone with your number can message you. But the protection ends once your number leaks: anyone who has it can add you to a group, and every member of that group can then message you directly. Blocking stops their direct messages, but not what they post in a shared group, so leaving the group is the only fix.
Zangi says an account is removed automatically once it collects a certain number of reports, with no manual review. That can stop spammers quickly, but it can also be abused to knock out an innocent user. Apple rates the app 4+, and the privacy policy does not set a minimum age. Zangi's own advice is to use it only with people you know and to report child exploitation to the NCMEC CyberTipline.
Anonymous sign-up cuts both ways. In May 2023, India blocked 14 messengers under Section 69A of its IT Act, and media reports citing officials named Zangi among them, along with imo and Threema. Officials said the apps had no Indian office and agencies could not reach them. The government did not publish the list.
How to use Zangi more safely
- Set a password as soon as you register and store it in a password manager.
- Share your Zangi number only with people you know, and never post it publicly.
- Leave any group a stranger adds you to, then block the person who added you.
- Turn on the passcode or Face ID lock in Zangi's privacy settings.
- On Android, use the data transfer feature before you change phones, since there is no cloud backup.
- If you need encryption you can rely on against a capable adversary, choose an audited app such as Signal or Threema.
How we scored it
Regulatory record (85) and privacy (72) are Zangi's strongest factors: no fines, no ads and very little data, though its store labels understate what the policy says it keeps. Security (58) is the weakest, because encryption that is on by default but documented only in marketing copy cannot earn the scores of audited messengers. For a comparison with another big calling app, see imo.
Questions people ask
Is Zangi really end-to-end encrypted?
Zangi says every message, file, group chat and call is End-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary automatically with AES-GCM 256. Nobody outside the company has been able to confirm it, because Zangi has published no protocol specification and no independent audit. AES-GCM is a strong cipher, but it says nothing about how keys are exchanged and checked, which is where messengers usually fail.
Does Zangi need my phone number?
No. When you register, Zangi creates a random 10-digit Zangi Private Number, and you can add a name and photo if you want. Set a password straight away, because Zangi cannot reset it and you lose the account if you sign out or lose the phone without one.
Does Zangi really collect no data?
Not quite. Its App Store and Google Play labels say no data is collected, but its privacy policy lists your country code, push token, device ID, device model, operating system and app version, stored on its servers, plus profile and subscription details. That is still far less than most messengers, but the labels understate it.
Can Zangi messages be recovered from a lost phone?
No. Zangi keeps no cloud backup of chats, so your history exists only on your device. Android has a data transfer feature for moving to a new phone, but if the phone is lost or wiped, the messages are gone.
Who makes Zangi?
The app is sold by Secret Phone, Inc. Its privacy policy is governed by Delaware law and gives the courts of Armenia exclusive jurisdiction over disputes, which reflects the company's Armenian roots. Zangi does not publish where its servers are.
Sources
- 1.Zangi - Private Messenger App Store listing and App Privacy label (opens in a new tab) · Apple App Store, 2026
- 2.Zangi - Private Messenger data safety section (opens in a new tab) · Google Play, 2026
- 3.Zangi Privacy Policy (opens in a new tab) · Secret Phone, Inc., 2026
- 4.Zangi FAQ - Security and Privacy (opens in a new tab) · Zangi, 2026
- 5.Zangi FAQ - Registration and Account (opens in a new tab) · Zangi, 2026
- 6.Govt blocks 14 mobile messenger apps over security concerns (opens in a new tab) · Inc42, 2023