WhatsApp is an app that shows just how far we’ve evolved in our quest to come up with different was of communications. 50 years ago, the way to communicate with people was via smoke signals or pigeon carriers. Now, in 2022, all it takes to reach out to a loved one is a network connection and 10 seconds!
From sending text messages to being able to send voice messages, pictures and even video calls to our loved ones using online messaging apps has made our life more convenient.
While WhatsApp is our go-to app for staying connected with people, one can’t help but wonder if there are other apps out there that are just as good, if not popular. I tried out a few of these app and the result is this list! Here are 4 alternatives to WhatsApp
Telegram
Telegram is one of the alternatives to WhatsApp and it is as popular as WhatsApp with around 500 million users. Telegram is owned by Russian-born Nikolai and Pavel Durov. Launched in 2013, Telegram is absolutely free, allows you to sync messages across all your devices and also offers the option to share files. It also allows you to set messages to self-destruct and you can chat in groups of up to 200,000 users. The downside to Telegram is that it only provides end-to-end encryption for Secret chats while WhatsApp on the other hand offers end-to-end encryption not just for personal chats but also for group chats.
Threema
Threema was founded in December 2012 by Manuel Kasper. It is a highly secured messaging app. It lets you send text, voice, picture and video messages, which are all encrypted and stored only on your phone. Messages in Threema are deleted as soon as they have been delivered. Threema beats WhatsApp when it comes to security as all the text is highly encrypted. The app has more than 4 million users worldwide. The downside to this app is that it is a paid one and not everyone is comfortable paying to use a messaging app.
Skype
Skype is truly an OG when it comes to IM apps! It’s been around and popular for as long as I can remember. Skype is owned by Microsoft and allows you to easily voice call, video call or even drop texts to your contacts easily. You can also record your skype calls. Skype’s cloud-based storage makes it easy to keep track of conversations wherever you are, and Skype is compatible with HD webcams, ensuring that you get to spill the tea in high definition.
Signal
Another messaging app that is quite similar to WhatsApp is Signal. Signal is available on all platforms, is free and has end-to-end encryption which means hackers won’t be able to read your messages. Signal uses open source encryption which helps the developers find bugs in the app and fix them making the app better and more user-friendly. The downside to Signal is that it doesn’t have emojis so it can seem a little boring.
That’s it for this list! Personally, I can see myself going back to using Skype as a messaging app instead of WhatsApp, if I can convince my friends and family to make the switch. Do let us know what other apps you’d like us to find alternatives for.