The developer states that no data is collected from this app.
On the label, yes. SafeChat's developer reports that it collects no data, which puts it among the 29% of secure messengers we checked with a "Data Not Collected" label. That is a self-declared statement, not an audit, and it does not cover data processed only on your device.
SafeChat privacy in one look
- 1Collects nothing
- 2Not linked
- 3Linked
- 4Tracks you
Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.
SafeChat's developer states that the app does not collect any data from this app.
Did SafeChat ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what SafeChat's developer declared.
Location is not on SafeChat's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
User Content is not on SafeChat's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Contacts is not on SafeChat's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
SafeChat declares no tracking, so a tracking prompt would contradict its label. Decline it, and consider reporting the mismatch to Apple.
Health & Fitness is not on SafeChat's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.
What SafeChat's label means for you
“Data Not Collected” is the cleanest result a label can show. It means the developer states that no data leaves your iPhone in a way the developer or its partners can access for longer than needed to handle a request. Data processed only on your device does not count as collected, so SafeChat can still read files or photos you open in it.
The statement is the developer's own. Apple reviews apps but does not audit every label, and analytics or crash-reporting libraries added later can make a label out of date. If SafeChat asks you to create an account, upload files or allow tracking, that would not match a no-collection label — and is worth noticing.
Messengers see who you talk to as well as what you say. Even with end-to-end encrypted content, contact lists and metadata can be collected and linked to you. Check whether contact upload is optional, whether backups are encrypted too, and whether disappearing messages exist.
Among the 172 secure messengers in our snapshot with a label, 14% declare tracking, 54% collect data linked to you and 29% say they collect nothing. SafeChat lists 0 data types, fewer than the average of 2.8 for this group.
Social apps are built around identity and contacts, so data linked to you is nearly universal. Tracking and contact upload are the settings worth checking.
Settings to check for SafeChat
- 1
Contacts
Settings › Privacy & Security › Contacts. Limited Access shares only the people you select instead of your whole address book.
- 2
Microphone & camera
Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone and Camera. The orange and green dots in the status bar show when either is in use.
- 3
Lock the app
On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the icon and choose Require Face ID. Anyone who picks up your unlocked phone then needs your face, fingerprint or passcode to open it.
- 4
Notifications
Settings › Notifications › SafeChat › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does SafeChat track you?
There is no “Data Used to Track You” section on SafeChat's label.
Lock SafeChat behind Face ID
- Find SafeChat on your Home Screen or in App Library.
- Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
- Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. SafeChat now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not SafeChat has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
About SafeChat
| Developer | SafeChat, Inc. |
| App Store category | Social Networking (also Entertainment) |
| Latest version | 1.4.15, released September 2023 |
| First released | March 2020 |
| Requires | iOS 12.1 or later |
| Size | 100 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ |
| Languages | 5 (EN, ZH, ES, ZH, VI) |
| Bundle ID | net.safechat.app |
The current version shipped in September 2023, 3 years before our snapshot. Apps that are not updated may not support newer iOS privacy controls, and an abandoned app will not get security fixes.
What the label cannot tell you
- A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what SafeChat sends.
- It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
- Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
- Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
- Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.
The question to ask SafeChat's developer: Is the message content end-to-end encrypted by default, including backups?
SafeChat vs similar secure messengers
- Rakuten Viber Messenger
- JusTalk
- twinme+ private messenger
- KeeperChat Encrypted Messenger
- Skred Messenger
- SafeChat (this app)
- ChatSecure Messenger
Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.
Look up any of our apps in seconds, or put two labels side by side.
Apps similar to SafeChat
All secure messengers → Who tracks you? A–Z → Privacy label decoder →
Your SafeChat privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
False: there is no Data Used to Track You section on SafeChat's label.
- Right.Not quite.
Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.
- Right.Not quite.
It can read photos you give it access to. Processing on your device is not collection; only data sent off the phone counts.
- Right.Not quite.
It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.
- Right.Not quite.
Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.