The best WhatsApp alternatives

Telegram is a company run by the Russian brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov, famous for founding the Russian alternative to Facebook, VKontakte. After the Kremlin began to take stricter control over their internet service and Pavel Durov was forced to leave the country, the brothers developed Telegram. Their WhatsApp alternative developed even further: the service is cloud-based, meaning that Telegram users can access their messages and content on a variety of mobile devices as well as on their computer. A further advantage is the limitless, large-scale file sharing. WhatsApp, on the other hand, puts limits on the amount of data and file size that you can receive and send, based on the capacity of your device – usually a smartphone.
Telegram is considered a very secure application. The developers offer two different forms of encryption for users: for all private and group chats, there’s a server-client encryption, which encrypts messages on the way from sender to server and from server to recipient. But Telegram itself does have access to the content of chats on the server, and so it could theoretically forward this information on to external sources. In what are known as secret chats, Telegram offers an end-to-end encryption, which ensures that only the sender and the recipient can read a message. Telegram itself has no access to this content, which means that it’s also impossible for the data to be forwarded or accessed by third parties or security services.

Messages that are sent with an end-to-end encryption don’t get stored on the Telegram cloud and so can only be opened and read on the device they were initially sent from or first received on. There’s also a setting for the secret chats mode that ensures the message will delete itself after a certain time. The message and/or content sent also can’t be copied from the chat or forwarded to anyone else, and if the sender chooses to delete it, then it will also be deleted from the recipient’s device.

It’s important to mention that the latest version of WhatsApp now also offers end-to-end encryption for all messages. Since this type of encryption isn’t possible for cloud-based content, Telegram makes a compromise here in data protection for greater user-friendliness. But many users who have switched to Telegram in recent months haven’t done so looking for higher levels of encryption: they’ve done so because Telegram has nothing to do with Facebook.

However, Telegram also doesn’t promise that the company will always operate under the same data protection guidelines or that it’ll never be sold. This has created some concerns about the lack of clarity over the corporate structure of this WhatsApp alternative. For users who value data protection above comfort, it’s worth finding another alternative to WhatsApp.

Threema is a messaging app from Switzerland. Like most alternatives to WhatsApp the app is very secure when it comes to data. Like WhatsApp, Threema uses end-to-end encryption for all messages. In addition, messages are deleted from the server as soon as they are successfully transmitted. Additionally, Threema manages groups and contact lists only on the mobile device, not on the server. When Threema synchronizes contacts from your phone’s contact list, they are only transferred to the server anonymously (“hashed”). In addition, unlike WhatsApp, Threema does not store meta data about who is communicating with whom and when. This WhatsApp alternative takes user data protection much more seriously than its competition does. Threema's servers are located in Switzerland, where they are subject to strict data protection regulations.

In addition to data protection, Threema also impresses with some useful features. For example, Threema offers a voting feature that enables users to easily create surveys. A question to a group of friends, such as where to meet in the evening, no longer leads to many different answers, since the person asking the question can immediately specify a certain number of options for which the other participants in the group chat can then vote. Threema also offers a PIN lock feature for private chats.

The catch with Threema is not only - as with any WhatsApp alternative - the relatively low number of users, but also the fact that the messaging app is not free. In the app store or the Threema store, you have to buy one or more licenses for a small fee. In the Threema store, you can buy the Android version via PayPal or with Bitcoins.

Signal is, like many WhatsApp alternatives, relatively unknown, and its developers even more so. The Signal creators’ Open Whisper Systems have delivered end-to-end encryption software with open source code and have been used by WhatsApp, Telegram, and more, to develop their own encryption. Edward Snowden uses Signal, and the team around cryptographer Moxie Marlinspike, the founder of Open Whisper Systems, enjoys an excellent reputation among IT security experts. Open Whisper Systems is financed entirely by scholarship grants and donations, so it doesn’t rely on any advertising.

As might be expected from the developers of the most famous encryption technology available for messengers, security is at the forefront of everything Signal does. Both private and group chats are secured with end-to-end encryption, and telephone numbers are transmitted anonymously (“hashed”) to the server.

But, on the other hand, the user is required to share their contact list with Signal during the registration process. This is optional on WhatsApp, though it’s important to note that WhatsApp becomes very difficult to use without sharing your contact list with it, as you can’t add telephone numbers using the keypad. Signal stores very little meta data, and no information about who is communicating with whom. The only thing that the app stores is whether someone is using the service or not.

For security reasons, Signal offers no backup function, unlike many other WhatsApp alternatives. And while some of the alternatives to WhatsApp we’ve discussed allow the export of chats on all operating systems, Signal only offers an export function for Android. This means it is possible to back up content manually to another device, but this takes significantly longer and requires much more effort than a typical backup. The advantage is that the chance of the backup landing in the wrong hands is a lot slimmer.

Deutsche Post (a German postal service) also wanted to try its hand at messaging and that’s how SIMSme came to be. In the meantime, the service was sold to Brabbler AG, which is already known on the market thanks to its instant messenger, ginlo. For SIMSme users, nothing should change at least in the foreseeable future.

Like most WhatsApp alternatives, SIMSme also offers its users encrypted sending of messages and files - free of charge and without any advertising. You can protect your own data further by scanning a QR code when you meet a person so that you can verify them.

A special feature are the self-destructive messages: pictures, videos, and chat messages can be removed automatically as soon as the recipient has seen them. It is also possible to send messages at a pre-determined time. To do this, you simply set the desired sending time in advance. Another of the app’s specialties is that users can inform themselves about news via content channels.

The app is available in a free version for private users and in another variant for business customers. Companies have the option of adapting the app’s appearance to that of their own brand. In contrast to private users, business customers can also download versions for tablets and PCs.

The rather new WhatsApp alternative Wire was founded in 2014. The company has not yet published user figures, but due to many people still not being aware of the messaging service, it can be assumed that there are currently still fewer users than with the other WhatsApp alternatives. Like Threema, the company responsible, Wire Swiss GmbH, has its headquarters in Switzerland - but most of the technical development of the messaging service takes place in Berlin, Germany.

Wire also uses end-to-end encryption from Open Whisper Systems. The app stores meta data in the same way as Telegram, but does so anonymously. The storage of meta data can also be switched off.

Wire's biggest unique selling point is that, thanks to voice-over-IP technology, you can make group calls with the app. This makes sense since Wire was founded by Skype co-founder Janus Friis. These calls are also tap-proof. Wire is the only WhatsApp alternative where both group calls and video calls have end-to-end encryption.

When you use Wire, you should exercise caution with third-party features such as YouTube or SoundCloud. This is because the data that users generate when sending this content is subject to third-party privacy policies. So if you want to avoid information on user behavior being visible, you should not use these features. In addition, Wire also has access to sent photos.

Similar to Telegram, the app works across platforms - but in a much more secure way: In order not to circumvent end-to-end encryption, the chat processes are not transferred between the different end devices. For example, if you start a chat on your smartphone, you will not be able to access the messages on your PC.

This alternative to WhatsApp, Hoccer, comes from Germany. It scores points with its high security and anonymity. As with the competition, all Hoccer chats are secured by end-to-end encryption. This also applies to sending pictures, videos, audio recordings, contacts, and location data. There is no file size limitation. Telephone calls via this messaging service are not possible, however. No information needs to be transmitted to the service when you log in. Neither telephone number nor e-mail address are required, it’s fine to choose a pseudonym for the service.

An interesting feature is the ability to exchange data with other users in your vicinity. You can see users that are within around 300ft of you so you can chat or exchange files with them. All this is encrypted. If you need even more security, you can check the public key on the other person's smartphone.

The app can be protected by an additional password. An interesting additional feature (for iOS users): If someone wants to gain unauthorized access to the app and enters the wrong password, the front camera automatically takes a picture of this person.

Hoccer is free and does not show advertisements to its users. According to its own statements, the company finances itself through premium offers for professional purposes. All Hoccer servers are located in Germany and therefore comply with the high German data protection standards. A major disadvantage of the messaging service is that the software is not (at least not yet) open source - which means that you have to trust the company's security since you can’t check the source.