Even though most of us would like to think that we live in an honest and open society, this is often not the case. In fact, many of use send texts and other messages to a variety of people spanning a variety of topics daily, and the truth of the matter is that these messages weren’t meant for public, or prying, eyes. If you don’t want someone reading what you’re writing, you have two options: delete those messages pronto and pretend like they never existed or check out the new Black SMS text app.

As you might have guessed by the name of this app, Black SMS will keep private messages between you and your intended recipient. Black SMS works with iMessage, which means that Android, BlackBerry, and Windows users are out of luck for now, but iPhone users will likely find this app very handy. Need to send an uber-private message pronto? Here’s how Black SMS works – tested by yours truly.

A Private Message Meant for Two

After the quick and painless download, you can start using Black SMS (found in the App Store, of course). The first thing that you’ll have to do is choose a password to share with your recipient. Once that password has been chosen, you will have to share it with the person you will be sending a message to – make sure that you share the private password via phone, email, or some other method! After sharing that password, you can simply type your message and send it.

The text will then appear on the recipient’s screen as a blacked-out text bubble. That bubble must then be copied and pasted into the Black SMS app in order to be read. If someone who doesn’t have the right password tries to read the message, they will see a blank bubble. If someone looks through your texts, any message send with Black SMS won’t appear. That’s it, that’s all there is to Black SMS – genius isn’t it?

Of Course, This Has to Be Considered…

Now, the main problem I see with Black SMS is that a black text bubble that isn’t actually full of any words will cause suspicion -- unless, of course, you can fool someone into thinking that your text just didn’t get sent or something of the kind. If not, anyone who sees a black text bubble (like, say, your spouse) is likely to know that you’ve been sending private and secured text messages to someone else. As you might have guessed, this will not bode will with anyone who you’re trying to keep a private message from. So, I suggest that you keep those Black SMS texts between yourself and your significant other.

If you’re just trying to keep your texts from your boss, well, Black SMS has its place. This method of sending private text messages really does work, it is very easy to use, and it can be your right now if you have an iPhone. What about the price? What? You didn’t think that you could send sneaky text messages for free, did you? Well, Black SMS will cost you $.99, which might be a lot if you’re one of those people who refuses to pay for apps. If not, $.99 isn’t such a big deal and you will find that this app really does work wonders (of the secret kind, of course!).