Currently Whatsapp is the biggest and was first of its kind to be social engaging and connecting mobile application with contact-detailed identification. With over a billion users in 180 countries and counting, WhatsApp is the undisputed to-go instant messaging app on the globe. The social media giant—Facebook and its applications, including FB Messenger, Instagram, and other third-party apps, have been involved in several security breaches and have breached user privacy over the years. WhatsApp, on the other hand, is a Facebook-owned app that has resisted introducing user-centric security features such as End-to-End Encryption and other security protocols. WhatsApp began as an instant messaging service before being purchased by Facebook in the year 2014. While Facebook did not insert advertisements or violate users’ privacy on WhatsApp during the early years of its acquisition, it did cause security-conscious users to be worried about their privacy and security.
Facebook recently changed its privacy policies, allowing the company to use the data collected by WhatsApp in whatever way it sees fit. Instead of having to download three separate applications, As per various reports, Facebook is rumored to be merging Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger into a single platform, allowing users to communicate with others via messages and more in a single app. In certain cases, this will also include WhatsApp’s robust E2E encryption.
The changed policies by Facebook for Whatsapp, are stated below:
The latest privacy policy concerns WhatsApp’s service and how it manages user data. It provides end-to-end encryption, but with the recent policy update, WhatsApp and its family of applications and businesses under Facebook will be able to receive and transmit data from other companies. Operating, providing, understanding, improving, customizing, supporting, and marketing programs are all part of this.
One of the most surprising provisions of the privacy policy is the ability of WhatsApp to send necessary user data to the government in the case of unusual incidents. WhatsApp stores a large amount of data and is able to gather knowledge about these facets of your identity. Contact information, financial information, user material, usage data, diagnostics, identifiers, contacts, venue, and transactions are all included.
Moreover, Facebook and its subsidiaries, including WhatsApp, would be able to use data collected on the apps to enhance user experiences such as product recommendations, among other items. Users’ messages are not saved, according to the privacy policy, but the user’s profile image, status message, profile name, and account information are. In layman’s words, WhatsApp stored user data on its servers that could be used for marketing purposes directly or indirectly on WhatsApp or any of Facebook’s other apps/companies.
1. Skype
Millions of people use Skype around the world. Skype has established itself as one of the most popular instant messaging and voice/video calling apps on the market. It allows you to hold a high-definition video call, and it won’t lag or display a pixelated or blurred video feed of other participants if you have 3 to 4 or more people on board. On Skype, you can have an HD video call with 1 to 49 of your family and friends.
You may form groups with other people. Make new connections by searching for people on Skype by username, email address, or even phone number. You can set your Skype status to “Busy” or “Available” so that others can contact you. If they aren’t on Skype, you can communicate with them using Skype Credit, which is a pay-as-you-go service. You can also make phone calls and send SMS messages to non-Skype users.
2. Signal
Signal—founded by the founder of Whatsapp, is one of the most obvious options for users. It has millions of users and was recently endorsed by Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. Signal Private Messenger uses the open-source Signal Protocol to provide end-to-end encryption. This protects your chats and conversations while allowing security experts to identify and patch vulnerabilities and flaws.
Signal protects every call and message with open-course encryption. It is completely free to use and contains no trackers or ads, so go ahead and try it out. If you don’t want the brightness of your screen to irritate you, particularly at night, the application has a Dark Mode. There are a few drawbacks, such as the lack of animated emojis, but hey, if you’re serious about protecting your privacy from intruders and prying eyes, Signal is one of the best WhatsApp alternatives.
3. Telegram Messenger
When it comes to the best WhatsApp alternatives, Telegram Messenger is at its best. It’s fast, secure, and synchronizes across all of your devices. Telegram, which has over 400 million users, allows users to share unlimited multimedia files of any size or kind. Since it is a cloud-based app, the entire chat history will not take up a single byte of your internal storage. Above all, it protects your data from prying eyes and places a premium on privacy.
It has open-source encryption for chats and calls (both voice and video calls), but you must turn it on manually. It helps you to build groups of up to 200K people. Telegram is capable of sharing extremely large videos and files, such as 1.5GB of any movie. It is fully ad-free and has no advertisements at all. You can also download movies, TV shows, and other content from Telegram’s various channels.
4. Session private messenger
An email address or phone number is usually required when creating an account on any instant messaging app. Is that correct? To build an account with Session Private Messenger, you don’t need a phone number or an email address. Session generates a Session ID that you can ask anyone to enter once you’ve set up your account. Session has set up user-operated servers all over the world, which means it doesn’t have power over them and therefore reduces the risk of them leaking any user data.
When you use the app, no metadata is recorded, and no UP addresses are ever recorded on the servers. End-to-end encryption ensures that no one is expecting your messages. Session has no idea who you are, who you’re communicating with, or what the messages are about. One of its mottos is “free expression,” so if you use Session, you’re in for a treat.
5. Threema
It prioritizes your safety and privacy above all else. Despite the fact that there is no free edition, it is one of the most common safe messengers. On Threema, you will have uninterrupted and seamless end-to-end encrypted voice and video calls. E2E encrypted instant messaging is also included in the app. Unlike every other app you’ve used, the app is designed to produce as little data as possible. It employs the aforementioned encryption method for all audio, video, group chats, media files, and other elements of Threema that users communicate with on a daily basis. Threema Site, Dark Theme, Syncs Contacts Optionally, and Private Instant Messaging are some of the features.