( CNN ) -- On the Internet , a truly private conversation is hard to come by . Personal communications on apps , e-mail and social networks are very much an open book , and they leave a trail of personal data that can potentially be accessed by criminals , corporations and government agencies . No wonder more and more people are using apps whose messages quickly disappear from phones once they 've been read . Take Wickr , a self-destructing messaging app that takes security very seriously . The free app has been available on iOS for a little more than a year and on Monday , it expanded its reach to a wider audience with an Android version . Like the better-known Snapchat ( and the lesser-known Poke ) , messages on Wickr live briefly before supposedly vanishing forever from your phone and the prying eyes of computer servers . There are many security advantages to this type of communication . The format makes it difficult for recipients to share , forward and spread messages . Any sensitive photos or texts have a better chance of not becoming a permanent artifact on the Internet . They are also deleted from the companies ' servers ( or in the case of Wickr , never stored on a company server ) , making it difficult for hackers , criminals or government agencies to retrieve old conversations . Snapchat has become hugely popular in the past year . Its users now send more than 350 million photos a day . The company has played down the security advantages of self-destructing messages , focusing instead on the playful aspects of the `` ephemeral '' messaging trend , like having fun and living in the moment . Fairly or not , the service has also developed a reputation as a platform for sexting . `` Snapchat is not a great way to send photos you want to keep safe and secure , '' said Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference last week . He cited the ability of recipients to take screenshots and of hackers to access content as reasons the platform was n't safe for `` inappropriate photos . '' Wickr was developed by computer-security experts and has some heavy-duty layers of security to keep communications anonymous and private . Each message -- whether text , photo , video or voice -- is encrypted with a one-time-use unique key , and only the sender and Wickr users have those keys . Any telling metadata is stripped out when you send attachments , and deleted messages are forensically erased , or `` shredded , '' from your device . `` No security is 100 % , but we are the best available , '' said Nico Sell , CEO and co-founder of Wickr . Wickr also has a few more messaging features than the minimalist Snapchat . You can choose to let messages live for days , not just seconds . The iOS app can send encrypted attachments , though you can not yet send PDF attachments on the Android version . Wickr 's founders frequently test the app with their own network of well-known hackers , and as well as with a tougher crowd : kids . `` We really made it to try and protect them from the permanence of the Internet , '' said Sell , whose own children use the app . There are always security risks . If your phone is compromised , a hacker could track keystrokes while you are typing out messages . People are another potential weak link -- someone could steal your phone while you are logged in . Or the person on the receiving end of your messages could violate your trust and share the information . `` You have to remember , there 's no magic pill for betrayers , '' said Sell . Unlike Snapchat , Wickr does n't give a notification when someone captures a screenshot . It 's difficult to take one , and the company thought a notification would give users a false sense of security . Wickr does n't just want to take on Snapchat , it also hopes to be an alternative to Facebook Messenger , Skype and free International texting tools like WhatsApp . Typical online-communication tools store information on servers indefinitely . That can include the content of messages , participants in the conversation , time stamps and even location information . Many of the companies that host the messages , like Google and Facebook , make their money on personal data which they use to sell targeted ads . They are n't invested in keeping your personal data private because it 's not smart business . Wickr has a different type of business plan that is n't based on personal data . The app is free , but eventually the company will charge its power users for in-app purchases , such as paying for a message to live forever . In a year filled with increased awareness of cybersecurity and the government 's ability to snoop on digital communications , Wickr 's anonymous , highly secure communication may be a killer feature all on its own .
Wickr is a self-destructing messaging app created by computer-security experts . Snapchat has played down the security of its similar app in the past . Messages sent using Wickr are anonymous and encrypted .