Sexting can open up a whole new frontier for your sex life. In my experience, it’s an exciting form of digital foreplay that builds anticipation like nothing else. But you can’t just slide into someone’s DMs on a random dating app and start a spicy conversation (unless you’re on a site like AdultFriendFinder, where that’s the whole point). Real sexting requires more thought, especially when it comes to your privacy.
As Mashable’s resident dating app expert for the last three years, I’ve tested dozens of platforms to find the best and most discreet apps for the job. My highest priority is always user safety. I spoke with security expert Gary Orenstein, who stressed that for sharing intimate content, “privacy features cannot be optional — they’re essential.” He recommends looking for apps with three key features: end-to-end encryption, disappearing messages, and screenshot detection.
After all, if you believe in safe sex, you should practice safe sexting, too. Based on my hands-on testing and these expert criteria, I’ve picked the best sexting apps that will keep your chats private.
Recent updates to this guide:
We regularly test new apps and dating platforms. For our most recent update to this guide in October 2025, we made the following changes:
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Confide: We’ve once again named this the best overall sexting app, replacing Signal as the top pick. We still recommend Signal as the best free secure messaging app. On balance, we think Confide’s security and privacy tools give it the edge.
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Lovesense Remote: We added Lovesense Remote as the app that’s “Best for Group Sexting.” Lovesense Remote is also a fun way for couples (and polyamorous folks) to incorporate sexting and Bluetooth sex toys to their love life.
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FetLife: We named FetLife “Best for Niche Kinks & Fetishes.” This social networking platform is popular in the kinkster community and can be a good way to connect with sexy new friends.