It’s almost impossible to imagine a world without chat apps.
Chat services give us a way to connect through the internet with each other,
without having to pay for every message or every calling minute.
Whatsapp is one of the most popular chat service.
It has over 1.5 billion users worldwide.
The app is always a best choice to communicate with your buddies, family, colleagues, etc.
But,
Whatsapp is now owned by facebook.
It’s the time to look for safer options.
Why Do We Need a WhatsApp Alternative?
In 2014, Facebook acquired WhatsApp.
This caused a controversy because users of WhatsApp were worried that all their data would be gathered by Facebook and used for business purposes.
Whatsapp updated it’s privacy terms in 2016.
According to these terms, you allow WhatsApp to exchange information (phone number, contact list & user information) with third parties.
WhatsApp hit the headlines after unveiling its updated terms of service that will allow user data to be collected by Facebook.
The parent company Facebook will collect phone number and location along with other personal data.
With privacy regulators and campaigners who challenged the decision to embrace our data grab or get out,
the revised terms of service did not sit well.
Best Secure Whatsapp Alternatives
The new privacy policy has prompted a lot more people to explore WhatsApp alternatives.
Fortunately, not all is lost for those who want to avoid Facebook’s all-seeing eye and protect their privacy.
Like WhatsApp, there are many other encrypted messaging apps that serve but won’t compromise your privacy.
The list included Signal, Telegram, and Threema.
Signal
Signal is potentially the best replacement to whatsapp in 2021.
It’s an encrypted and free portal for users.
The app is simple to use and has WhatsApp-like features such as a deleted message, speech, and video calling function.
The encrypted messaging app provides an auto-delete option to ensure even more protection.
But animated emojis are the only thing that lags, as the app does not currently support it.
The popularity of Signal spiked more after Elon Musk (world’s richest man and founder of Tesla and Space X) supported it.
According to Sensor Tower, Signal hit more than 100,000 downloads in the last two days in the Apple and Google app stores.
Telegram
The finest alternative to WhatsApp is undoubtedly Telegram, and already has 200 million active users all over the world.
To show someone has received a message, it uses a double-tick system.
For voice calls, the app includes an automatic delete message feature and end-to-end encryption.
To prevent storage, however, users will have to turn on encryption for messages.
Telegram has a number of platform options.
You can use the app on almost all platforms and operating systems.
Telegram also support some interesting features.
They offer the option of having a group chat that can include up to 100.000 people.
In addition, the amount of photos or files you can share is not limited.
After WhatsApp announced its new terms of service, Telegram picked up almost 2.2 million downloads, reported by Sensor Tower.
.
Threema
Threema is an end-to-end encrypted, free and open-source instant messaging software that guarantees full privacy for users.
The contact list and community details are saved on your system.
People can use an 8-digit Threema ID to communicate with each other rather than a phone number.
Encrypted app supports texts, voice calls, file sharing as well as community chats.
It also encrypts messages so that no one can keep track of what you share.
Messages can be read-only by the receiver and the sender.
