Most users operate under a dangerous misconception: “If the app is popular, it must be private.”
The reality is often the opposite. “Free” apps usually come with a hidden cost: your data. The difference between a genuinely secure app and a data-hungry one often lies deep in the Terms of Service – specifically in how they handle your contact list, encryption keys, and metadata.
In this guide, we analyze the top 6 video calling and caller ID platforms on the market.
Let’s get started.
The Evaluation Criteria: Privacy vs. Security
Before we dive into the rankings, it is critical to understand the difference between Security and Privacy.
- Security means hackers can’t steal your data (e.g., encryption).
- Privacy means the company itself doesn’t collect or sell your data.
A platform can be highly secure (hacker-proof) but have zero privacy (they sell your call logs to advertisers). The best apps excel at both.
1. FaceCall (Best Overall for Privacy & Identity) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Verdict: The perfect balance of verified identity and encrypted security.
While many apps treat security as an afterthought, FaceCall was built with a “Privacy First” architecture.
It takes the top spot because it solves the hardest problem in modern communication: verifying who is calling without compromising your data.
Most video apps force you to choose between convenience (seeing who calls) and privacy (uploading your contacts). FaceCall eliminates this trade-off – making FaceCall one of the most secure video caller ID app.
Key Privacy Features
- End-to-End Encryption (E2EE): All video calls and Video Caller ID previews are fully encrypted. This means that from the moment the video leaves your phone until it hits the recipient’s screen, it is scrambled. No one—not even FaceCall developers—can intercept or watch your video streams.
- Granular Contact Control: Unlike competitors that scrape your entire address book and upload it to a cloud server to “find friends,” FaceCall gives you strict control. You can use the Choose Who Can Contact You feature to ensure that only verified contacts can send you video intros. This effectively creates a “allowlist” model, blocking spam and unwanted solicitation by default.
- Verified Identity Protocol: Scammers love video apps because they can use “Deepfakes” or stolen photos. FaceCall uses a cryptographic verification process for Video Caller IDs. When you see a “Verified” badge on a FaceCall video intro, it means the cryptographic keys match the verified user’s device, preventing “Spoofing” attacks.
The Trade-Off
The primary trade-off is the network effect. Because FaceCall doesn’t mine your data to “suggest friends” like Facebook does, you may need to manually invite your inner circle to get started. However, that also makes it one of the most secure video calling apps, especially as compared to apps like Signal.
Best For: Users who want the modern context of video calling (seeing who is ringing) but refuse to be tracked by ad-tech giants.
2. Signal (Best for Whistleblowers) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Verdict: The gold standard for pure anonymity, but lacks rich Caller ID features.
If your threat model involves nation-state actors, extreme surveillance, or you are a journalist working in a hostile environment, Signal is the answer.
Signal uses the open-source Signal Protocol, which is widely regarded by cryptographers as the most secure messaging protocol in existence. What sets Signal apart is not just how they encrypt data, but how little data they have.
Key Privacy Features
- Data Minimization: Signal’s philosophy is “we can’t hand over data we don’t have.” In multiple court subpoenas, the only data Signal has been able to provide to law enforcement is the date a user created an account and the date they last logged in. They do not know who you are calling, when you are calling, or where you are calling from.
- Sealed Sender: This is a unique feature that encrypts the sender’s identity on the server. When you send a message or start a call, even the Signal server doesn’t know who sent it—it only knows where to deliver it.
- Open Source Code: The entire codebase is available on GitHub. This allows independent security researchers to audit the code for “backdoors” constantly.
The Trade-Off
Signal prioritizes anonymity over features.
- No Video Caller ID: You cannot send a video hook before the call is answered. The ringing screen is a generic black screen with a name.
- Requires Phone Number: Despite years of requests, Signal still largely relies on a phone number as a primary identifier, which some privacy purists dislike.
Best For: Activists, journalists, and anyone who needs “Zero Trust” security.
Also Read: Best Signal Alternatives (Compared)
3. FaceTime (Best for Apple Ecosystem)⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Verdict: Extremely secure, provided you stay inside the “Walled Garden.”
Apple’s FaceTime is a privacy powerhouse for iOS users. The reason is simple economics: Apple makes its money selling hardware (iPhones), not data. They have little financial incentive to mine your calls for advertising profiles.
Key Privacy Features
1. On-Device Processing: Apple utilizes the powerful Neural Engine chips in iPhones to process video effects (like “Portrait Mode” or “Studio Light”) locally on your device. This data never touches the cloud.
2. No Data Sales: Apple explicitly states in their transparency reports that they do not sell your communication data to third parties.
3. Ephemeral Metadata: While Apple can technically see who you called (to route the call), they scramble and delete this metadata after 30 days.
The Trade-Off
- The “Green Bubble” Wall: FaceTime is fundamentally an exclusionary tool. While there are web links for Android users, the experience is clunky and lacks the native encryption guarantees of the iOS app.
- iCloud Backup Vulnerability: If you use iCloud Backup for your device, your call history is stored there. Unless you have “Advanced Data Protection” enabled (which gives you the keys), Apple holds the keys to those backups, which can be subpoenaed.
Best For: Families and friends who are 100% invested in the Apple ecosystem.
4. WhatsApp (Best for General Use)⭐⭐⭐
The Verdict: Secure content, but questionable metadata practices.
WhatsApp brings end-to-end encryption to the masses (over 2 billion users). It uses the same Signal Protocol as Signal, meaning the content of your video calls is secure. If you video call somebody on WhatsApp, Meta (Facebook) cannot see the video or hear the audio.
However, privacy is about more than just content.
Key Privacy Features
- Default E2EE: Unlike Telegram, where you have to turn on “Secret Chats,” WhatsApp encryption is on by default for everyone. This is a massive win for global security.
- View Once Media: You can send photos or videos that delete themselves immediately after viewing, preventing them from being saved to the recipient’s camera roll.
The Trade-Off (The “Meta” Problem)
While Meta cannot see your video, they can see everything else.
- Metadata Harvesting: WhatsApp collects extensive metadata: who you call, how long you talk, your IP address (location), and your device details. This data is used to build “social graphs” and behavioral profiles for advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
- Cloud Backups: If you back up your chat history to Google Drive or iCloud without enabling the specific “Encrypted Backup” setting (which is hidden in menus), your data is stored in plaintext on Google/Apple servers, making it vulnerable to law enforcement subpoenas.
Best For: General day-to-day communication where convenience trumps metadata privacy.
Also Read: Best WhatsApp Alternatives
5. Google Meet (Best for Enterprise)⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Verdict: Secure infrastructure, but not always “Private” for personal users.
Google Meet is built for business. It has incredible security against hijacking and abuse (unlike the early days of Zoom). However, for personal users, it operates differently from a peer-to-peer app like Signal or FaceCall.
Key Privacy Features
- Anti-Abuse AI: Google’s AI is world-class at detecting and blocking spam callers or bots from joining meetings.
- Encryption in Transit: Calls are encrypted while traveling over the internet. However, they are decrypted on Google’s servers to enable features like “Live Captions” or “Cloud Recording,” before being re-encrypted and sent to the recipient. This means Google technically has the ability to access the stream, though they claim they only do so for automated processing.
The Trade-Off
- Data Mining: Google is an advertising company. While they state they do not use Meet data for ads, they do collect usage data to “improve services.”
- No True Peer-to-Peer: Because the video goes through Google’s cloud mixers, you are relying on their internal security policies rather than mathematical impossibility (like E2EE) to keep your data safe.
Best For: Business meetings and classrooms where features like recording and captions are necessary.
6. Truecaller (Lowest Privacy Score)⭐⭐⭐
The Verdict: Useful for blocking spam, but at a high privacy cost.
Truecaller is famous for identifying unknown numbers, but its business model is fundamentally different from the apps above. It relies on crowdsourcing.
To use the app’s full power, users historically granted access to their contact lists. This means your number might be in their database even if you never signed up, simply because your friend did.
Key Privacy Issues
- Enhanced Search: Truecaller’s main feature is a massive database of names and numbers. This database is built by ingesting user data.
- Ads & Tracking: The free version is heavily ad-supported, which involves third-party trackers.
- Not a Video-First App: While they have added video features, their primary architecture is built around data aggregation, not private, encrypted tunnels.
The Trade-Off
Truecaller is incredibly effective at what it does: identifying spam. If your primary goal is to know if a number is “Scam Likely,” it is the best tool. But if your goal is to have a private conversation, it ranks last.
Best For: Aggressive spam filtering, not for private communication.
Internal Privacy Checklist: How to Secure Your App?
Regardless of which app you choose, your privacy is often in your own hands. Here are three steps you should take immediately:
1. Audit Your Permissions: Go to your phone settings and check which apps have access to your Contacts. If an app doesn’t need your contacts to function, revoke access.
2. Enable “Less Data” Modes: In apps like FaceCall or WhatsApp, look for “Data Saver” or “Less Data for Calls.” This often routes calls through relays that mask your IP address from the other person.
3. Use “My Contacts” Filters: Never leave your Video Caller ID open to “Everyone.” Always restrict your visibility to your saved contacts to prevent strangers from profiling you.
Conclusion
For the modern user who wants the context of Video Caller ID—seeing who is calling and why—without sacrificing their digital soul to an ad network, FaceCall represents the best path forward.
It proves that you can have a rich, visual calling experience without being the product.
Try FaceCall now.
