These are the best alternatives to Telegram. So, if you’re considering changing your messaging app, you’ll know the best. The list is short but varied, with widely used apps and some focusing on privacy.
We’ll go through five well-known messaging apps, although we’ll include a bonus track at the end. We’ll describe each of them, including their privacy and moderation features. And yes, there are other alternatives, but these are the most popular because, ultimately, the idea of messaging apps is to communicate with people you know.
As a reminder, Telegram is still a complete app. Although it’s far from the most private by default, it has many privacy options. This app isn’t going away anytime soon, as many of us will continue to use it.
WhatsApp is an excellent alternative to Telegram because it’s the standard and most used app in many countries. WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption, so your messages are private without having to do anything extra.
WhatsApp also has options for reporting users and groups. You can set messages to self-destruct, make video calls, send voice and video notes, and more. WhatsApp doesn’t have a username system to avoid giving out your phone number, but Meta has already announced that this feature is on the way.
- Download: Google Play, App Store
Signal
Signal has established itself as a privacy-focused messaging app with end-to-end encryption like WhatsApp. However, it stores little user metadata, so it’s even more private than WhatsApp because the company that runs it knows less about you.
It doesn’t have many options for reporting content, but you can report ads. As such, you can find all kinds of messages on it and have total freedom to talk about any topic, with all the good and bad that liberty brings.
- Download: Google Play, App Store
Instagram is one of the world’s most important social media platforms. Although less convenient than a dedicated messaging app, Instagram has its own messaging system with privacy options, from self-destructing messages to end-to-end encryption.
In addition, you can forward posts and report inappropriate content. If you want to chat with someone, you don’t have to give out your phone number, just your Instagram username.
- Download: Google Play, App Store
Messenger
Messenger is another messaging app that Meta has to compete with Telegram. Since it’s based on Facebook, you can chat with other users of the blue app.
It’s a compelling messaging app with end-to-end encryption and plenty of options. The sad news is that you need a Facebook account to use it. However, you don’t necessarily need to add another user to chat with them. You also don’t have to give your phone number; you just need to share your Facebook account. It has an independent app for smartphones.
- Download: Google Play, App Store
Google Chat
Finishing off this list is the current Google messaging app, Chat. I say “current” because over the past few years, Google has had several apps, merged them, and discarded them, and this is the one that’s there now. To contact someone, you just need their Gmail address, so you don’t need their phone number.
- Download: Google Play, App Store
Coming Soon: RCS
RCS is the technology that promises to unify all messaging apps. You can already enable RCS in Google Messages to talk through that app as if it were a messaging app. Soon, it’ll be incorporated in iMessage, allowing you to chat from that app with other SMS apps like Google Messages. It will eventually reach WhatsApp and other apps.
The idea is to have a unified ecosystem with this technology, with encrypted messages, so you can talk comfortably from one app to another. You may not need to download messaging apps since you can use them with the SMS app, although messages through RCS will be free and complete, with emojis, gifs, and whatever you need.
Image | Dimitri Karastelev (Unsplash)
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