Vladimir Zykov believes that ICQ messenger is safer than WhatsApp, but this does not solve the problems. iOS and Android operating systems contain many vulnerabilities that are exploited by hackers.

Choosing a messenger for use, Russians are guided mainly by the advice of friends and their own feelings, said Vladimir Zykov, head of the Association of Professional Network Users and Messengers. The expert is sure that ICQ and Signal messengers are the safest in Russia. But few people use them.

In General, any messenger for a smartphone does not guarantee absolute security, because a vulnerable operating system controls the messenger.

"But if you choose secure mobile software, then the probability of hacking, of course, decreases," said the expert.

According to the expert, the situation is due to the fact that most applications run on mobile devices running the operating systems iOS and Android, developed by American companies Apple and Google. Therefore, they have access to Russian accounts.

"That is, in fact, their owners can connect to your phone and calmly watch from the screen everything that you have there," said he.

Earlier, the creator of Telegram and VKontakte Pavel Durov sharply criticized Facebook. The entrepreneur is unhappy with the protection of information in the WhatsApp messenger.
According to Durov, the application is a kind of Trojan that are not connected in any way with the messenger. This is due to the policy of the American company, which deliberately leaves security vulnerabilities.

WhatsApp, at the same time, is one of the most common messengers among Russians. In addition to it, the Viber application is popular. However, as experts say, these services do not really have high security.