With GDPR in effect from today, these are the top privacy apps you should know about

The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect today, 25 May across the European Union. The new legislation changes the way that companies can store and use personal data and requires them to check consent exists to use personal details.

GDPR means consent cannot be assumed, there is a right to be forgotten and organisations must be transparent about what data will be used for. With massive fines to be levied at businesses who don’t comply, many inboxes have been besieged with keep in touch emails from brands of all sizes.

Privacy is very much at the forefront of the headlines and consumer thoughts this week so, with that in mind, let’s take a look at the best privacy apps out there to help keep data safe online and via mobile devices. As you’d expect, many of the privacy apps focus on chat services and encrypting chat messages but there are also other options to safeguard passwords and encrypt web traffic.

Signal

Signal might not be as high profile as WhatsApp but this messaging app is often recommended for those worried about protecting their privacy and communications. Once downloaded, you can use Signal to send encrypted and private messages. Data isn’t stored by Signal either, meaning conversations remain private. For those who are ultra-security conscious, there is the option to set messages to disappear after a certain amount of time has passed.

TorMessenger

TorMessenger is another messaging app, similar to Signal. It allows users to send secure, encrypted messages across multiple chat apps. This desktop app has a strong privacy and protection focus, for off the record (OFT) chats sent over the Tor network to systems such as Facebook Messenger, Twitter and Yahoo! Chat.

Orbit

Orbit is a privacy app for Android devices which runs on the Tor network. It acts as a proxy and encrypts traffic before forwarding it on to its destination. The app is available for Android 4.0 devices onwards.

LastPass

If you’re guilty of using the same password across multiple accounts so you don’t forget them and find yourself locked out of your online banking or social media, you run the risk of making it very easy for hackers and other malicious parties to intercept your private data. LastPass solves this common problem by saving all of your passwords in an encrypted format. It can be used to store personal information such as insurance details securely and will store data such as shipping addresses for online ordering.