IAC has completed the acquisition of Confide, a mobile messaging application offering encryption that previously garnered attention for its use by White House personnel during the Trump administration. The transaction finalized on December 1, 2020, but was not made public until now, and integrates Confide into Teltech, the company behind the Robokiller app designed to block spam calls. Robokiller itself became part of IAC’s Mosaic Group through a purchase in 2018.

Teltech has confirmed the Confide acquisition, but has chosen not to disclose the financial details of the agreement. Data from Crunchbase indicates that Confide had secured $3.5 million in funding, with valuations ranging from $10 to $50 million, while Pitchbook estimated the valuation to be approximately $14 million around the same period.

Teltech clarified that the acquisition encompassed Confide’s intellectual property and technology, but not the original team responsible for its development.

The company views Confide as a complementary addition to its expanding portfolio of mobile communication applications, which also includes Robokiller and SwitchUp. SwitchUp provides users with a secondary phone number to enhance privacy and mitigate spam. Additional Teltech applications are TapeACall, a phone call recorder, and TrapCall, which identifies blocked callers.

Confide is likely to be a recognizable addition to this group, largely due to its past reputation as a preferred communication tool for Washington Republicans during the Trump administration.

However, despite an initial surge in users following related news coverage, growth decelerated when researchers released a report questioning the app’s security claims. Confide promptly addressed the identified vulnerabilities, but subsequently faced a class action lawsuit – which was later withdrawn by the plaintiff – concerning these security concerns.

Teltech acknowledges awareness of the past security issues, but states that discussions with the previous Confide team confirmed these problems were “quickly and effectively resolved.”

While IAC has not detailed its specific plans for Confide, the application will continue to provide users with a secure communication platform. It will not, however, attempt to directly compete with apps like Telegram by offering support for extremely large channels or group conversations accommodating tens of thousands of users.

“A key distinction is that Confide is geared towards one-on-one and smaller group communication, unlike Signal and Telegram which facilitate larger chat environments,” explains Giulia Porter, VP of Marketing at Teltech. “We differentiate ourselves by focusing on a more personal experience,” she adds.

Despite encountering challenges over time, Confide still maintained approximately 100,000 monthly active users at the time of the acquisition. A team of around 10 individuals has been assigned to further develop the app, providing necessary resources, and plans are underway for an updated logo and branding.

Confide’s current desktop and mobile applications will remain available and will be enhanced with new features as part of Teltech’s ongoing development efforts.

Both investors and IAC have refrained from commenting on the deal’s price, which may be indicative in itself.

“Given the significant increase in focus on privacy in recent years, Confide, which began as a side project, has evolved into a vital platform for confidential communication globally,” stated Jon Brod, co-founder and President of Confide, in a statement provided to TechCrunch regarding the company’s exit.

“We are pleased that IAC shares our commitment to secure communication and recognizes the unique business we have established. IAC has a demonstrated history of supporting rapidly growing companies and helping them achieve their full potential, and we are excited to see IAC guide Confide’s future success,” he said.