Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Whatsapp Alternatives that Actually Respect Your Privacy
When social media giant Facebook
purchased everyone’s favorite mobile messenger “Whatsapp,” users were
promised their data would be private and that they wouldn’t be subject
to the shady things that Mark Zuckerberg and crew are known for. That
promise is all but gone, leaving many of us seeking alternatives.
As time has gone on, more and more privacy has been taken away from Whatsapp users in the name of “analytical data.” Gone are the days when you could trust this app to be totally private and not expect to get data mined for valuable information – information that could easily be sold to advertisers.
Pretty
bleak, right? So let’s lighten the mood by presenting you with a bunch
of Whatsapp alternatives that aren’t made of broken promises and baby
tears. Here are our top 10 picks.
1. Wire
With end-to-end encryption and a no-nonsense interface, Wire is making
some waves on the secure messaging scene. Made by Skype co-founder Janus
Friis, Wire has some heavyweight design nous behind it.
You need to provide your your mobile number or email to use the app,
though these aren’t shared with other users, who you can communicate
with via a username. Timed messages are also an option, letting you
self-destruct them between five seconds and one day after you send them.
2. KIK Messenger
KIK has developed a bit of a salacious reputation over the years as an
app used for sexting, drug dealing and all manner of underhanded
tomfoolery (as well as standard messaging, of course). If nothing else,
that’s testament to one thing: it’s pretty darn private.
This free app doesn’t store your phone number, so you’re identifiable
only by your username, and all messaging data is stored locally on your
phone, leaving your privacy in your hands. KIK is therefore virtually
unmoderated and perfect for the privacy-conscious.
3. LINE
The biggest WhatsApp competitor you probably haven’t heard of, LINE is a
Japanese-developed app that offers a powerful feature set, conference
calls, thousands of stickers, and a clean, customizable interface. It
uses less data than WhatsApp during calls and end-to-end encryption.
While certain features require LINE to access your contacts list,
location and so on, all of this is optional, and whatever data you send
is encrypted on LINE’s servers. You can also set self-destruct timers to
delete messages from LINE’s servers.
4. Wickr Me
Availability: Android
In probably the best endorsement of a privacy-oriented messaging app,
Wickr Me is apparently used by journalists, world leaders and other
sorts who want to keep their private business private. (No names were
specified, mind you, but that’s sort of the point, right?)
Like WhatsApp, Wickr Me uses your phone number to log in and contains
all manner of silly and fun features like stickers and emojis. But
that’s where the similarities end. Wickr doesn’t store your contacts on
its servers, doesn’t keep metadata, and deletes messages irretrievably from your phone when you ask it to.
It’s free, doesn’t involve ads, and encrypts your data to high heaven. Good stuff.
5. Telegram
Telegram is
perhaps the most worthy alternative to Whatsapp. For starters, it
essentially has comparable features like voice and video messages, a
phone number-based login system, stickers, emojis, chat bots, groups,
channels and so much more. Along with those cool features, Telegram
isn’t just a mobile app.
That’s right, you can use Telegram on Windows, Mac and even Linux with
their desktop app. Alternatively, Telegram has a web chat application
for all your messaging needs. Best of all, Telegram supports end-to-end encryption and respects your privacy.
6. Kontalk
Have you ever wanted to host your own “Whatsapp” service? With Kontalk,
this is possible. This app is an open XMPP-based alternative to
Whatsapp that you can keep entirely on your own server. This means you
and only you will be in charge of the chat between you and your friends
and family, making it the ultimate at respecting your privacy.
Kontalk has an app in the Google Play store as well as the F-Droid app
store and a desktop client. If you’re looking for a solution that you
can make entirely your own, this is the best choice.
7. Antox/Antidote
Availability: iOS (as Antidote), Android
Antox is a robust and privacy-respecting messenger application. It
supports all of the standard chat features you’d expect. Antox (Antidote
on iOS), unlike a lot of the items on this list, isn’t nailed down to
one single app. That’s because it has many officially “blessed” apps for
Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, macOS and even FreeBSD.
This ultimately is a messaging protocol, and a secure one at that. It’s
under heavy development. Ultimately, Tox is very stable, although you
should expect bugs once in a while. If you’re looking to oust Whatsapp
from your life, don’t mind the risk of using a beta, and want a bit of
variety, go with this app.
8. Signal
Signal is
an app for Android, iPhone, macOS, Windows, Linux, and Chrome that is
designed around a similar principle to Telegram. Private communication
is based on your phone number, and they promise you’ll avoid SMS and MMS
fees, as your number is just used as an ID and not the point of
transmission.
As Signal is pretty much a more open-sourced Telegram clone, you’ll see
comparable features to that service. If you’ve used Telegram and want
something more open, you should give this one a shot. Regardless of its
“clone” status, it’s a worthy alternative to Whatsapp.
9. Threema
Threema is
a mobile chat platform that puts your privacy first. Like some other
apps on this list, it supports end-to-end encryption of text, images and
your GPS location. It also synchronizes with your contacts, making it
super easy to find people who are joining the service automatically.
The developers and owners of the service claim that “even we as the
server operator have absolutely no way to read your messages,” so you
know everything you say is protected and locked away from big companies
and governments mining your data.
10. KakaoTalk
Availability: iOS/Apple Watch, Android
KakaoTalk is
a chat application for Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Windows
and macOS designed to let the world chat on a one-on-one basis or with
groups in mind. Like most modern chat applications, this app supports
the sending of multimedia (pictures, videos, etc.).
The service might not be as well known as some of the others on this
list, but don’t let that turn you off. It’s a well-designed program and
is about as prolific as it gets. If you’ve tried everything on this list
already and haven’t found what you want, perhaps you should give
kakaoTalk a go.
Conclusion
Whatsapp used to be a good app, and by most standards, it still is.
Facebook has beefed it up with features and made it incredibly
competitive. However, seeing as how this platform is little more than a
data-farm for advertisements, people should seriously consider switching
to one of the apps on this list.
Each alternative to Whatsapp listed here has its own strengths as well
as weaknesses. However, one thing they all have in common is that
they’re miles removed from any sort of Facebook control.
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