John McAfee launches encrypted messaging app

The eccentric founder of the antivirus software company that bears his name (although he has not worked there since 1994) has announced the availability of Chadder, an entirely confidential IM app, for Android and Windows Phone. A version for iOS will be launched in the coming weeks.

The eccentric founder of the antivirus software company that bears his name (although he has not worked there since 1994) has announced the availability of Chadder, an entirely confidential IM app, for Android and Windows Phone. A version for iOS will be launched in the coming weeks.

Chadder is the result of a partnership between Etransfr and John McAfee's company Future Tense Systems. The free app keeps users' exchanges from falling into the wrong hands by using entirely encrypted messages. The messages sent can only be unscrambled through a unique key on the recipient's end, and anyone who tries to intercept the communications will see a meaningless sequence of characters.

The announcement of Chadder comes on the heels of an update to the famous messaging app Snapchat, which now has an IM feature. Once the conversation is over, all of the messages exchanged disappear without a trace. During these IM discussions, users can turn on video calling at any time to communicate face to face.