Antivirus software pioneer John McAfee has launched a new messaging app called Chadder, with a focus on encryption and security.

The app is produced by Future Tense Private Systems (FTC), a company founded by McAfee that has previously developed the Dcentral1 app, in conjunction with Etransfr. FTC says that “other privacy and security solutions are under development” too.

The core raison d’être of Chadder is privacy, with only the recipient able to read the message – would-be interceptors will only see “garbled, encrypted text”. When you first sign up, you do so by providing a nickname, username, and password. That’s it. Then, when you’re in, you should be able to add your email address and mobile number (to help people find you), otherwise you can generate a code to share and link up with individuals that way.

However, when we tested this earlier today, we could not get it to work. We tried using ‘Generate Code’, and also ‘Find by Email’, and we weren’t able to find other users. It’s still quite an early-stage ‘beta’ product, so hopefully this issue will be fixed soon – it’s quite a big stumbling block.

In a rare platform-launch reversal, Chadder is available now for Android and Windows Phone, though a version for iOS is currently being tested with a view to launch “in the coming weeks”.

Meanwhile, check out the official Chadder promo skit below.

➤ Chadder: Google Play | Windows Phone Store

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