Best Alternatives to WhatsApp in 2021 After Privacy Change

WhatsApp is currently the world’s preferred messaging app with more than 1 billion users in 180 countries. But this seems to be going to change a bit soon as WhatsApp releases a new privacy policy. WhatsApp will modify its Terms of Use as of February 8 and anyone who wants to continue using the instant messaging application will have to accept them.

The change mainly involves giving acceptance so that WhatsApp can share with Facebook -and the companies with which it collaborates, advertisers, etc.- the personal data of the users and all the information that is collected when they use the application. So, if you’re not OK with this you can consider the WhatsApp alternatives.

However, WhatsApp has always stressed being an independent application, dedicated to creating and maintaining a secure messaging service.

Facebook also plans to unite the messaging functions of Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram so that users could send messages to each other between the three networks.

For this reason, it is increasingly common for data protection authorities to suggest using more secure messaging applications. But what are these alternatives to WhatsApp? Here we’re giving the best WhatsApp Alternatives in 2021 if you think you’re not comfortable with the new WhatsApp privacy policy.

Best Alternatives to WhatsApp in 2021

1. Signal

Signal Private MessengerSignal Messenger is free, has strong encryption, and works on all mobile platforms. As with most messaging apps, Signal is very easy to use and also offers voice and video calls, so you won’t miss WhatsApp.

Signal has installation files for the desktop, so you can use the application from both your computer and your phone.

All messages are encrypted so that only the sender and the recipient can read them, so the messages are totally unreadable to hackers. Signal uses open-source encryption, allowing experts to check it for bugs. This makes the application even more secure.

Pros

  • End-to-end encryption
  • Open-source encryption
  • Available on all major platforms
  • Disappearing messages

Cons

  • Does not have animated emoticons

2. Threema

ThreemaThreema promises total privacy. Both your contact list and group information are only saved on your phone and not in the app, and messages are deleted the moment they are sent. Plus, you can connect with others using an 8-digit Threema ID instead of your phone number, giving you even more privacy. You can verify contacts with special QR codes.

Threema offers end-to-end encryption for all types of messages, including text, voice calls, file shares, and groups; It even encrypts the messages you put in your status so that no one can control what you post. Messages can only be read by the sender and the selected recipient. In addition, it is possible to use Threema in a safe way through the browser.

Pros

  • You don’t need a phone number
  • Contacts can be confirmed with a QR code
  • Allows you to customize the text format
  • Protect your conversations with a password

Cons

  • Payment application

3. Hoccer

Hoccer

Our next alternative to WhatsApp comes from Germany and convinces with great security and anonymity. Like its rivals, Hoccer also encrypts end-to-end chats, a protection method that here also covers the sending of images, videos, sound recordings, contacts, and geolocation data.

There are no limits to the size of the files that are sent, with this application, however, it will not be possible to make phone calls. To register, it is not necessary to provide any information, since the service does not require an email or a phone number. A pseudonym is enough to register.

An interesting function is to contact other users who are in an environment of a hundred meters to chat or exchange files, also in encrypted form. For more security, the public key can be checked on the caller’s phone.

Pros

  • Does not store metadata
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Anonymous registration
  • Secure file sharing with geographically close users

Cons

  • It is not open source
  • Does not support calling

4. Wire

Wire messaging app

Another alternative to WhatsApp is Wire which was born in 2014 and has offices in Germany and Switzerland. The company has not yet published official figures about its number of users, but, judging by the still low degree of popularity of the messaging service, it can be sensed that it is even lower than that of other alternative options to WhatsApp.

Wire also uses Open Whisper Systems end-to-end encryption and, like Telegram, it also stores metadata, albeit anonymously. In either case, metadata storage can be disabled.

The function that distinguishes Wire from the rest is to make group calls using Voice over IP (VoIP) technology. Not surprisingly, Wire was created by the co-founder of Skype, Janus Friis, and also here calls are protected against eavesdropping by third parties. Wire is the only alternative to WhatsApp in which both group calls and video calls are protected by end-to-end encryption.

Pros

  • Secure conversations
  • Scheduled messages
  • Ability to use up to 8 devices at the same time
  • Numerous conversations

Cons

  • It is a paid application

5. Confide

Confide

The last of our alternatives to WhatsApp is, perhaps, the most focused on the protection of communication. As can be guessed from its name, Confide safeguards the confidentiality of messages in different ways. First, and in common with other WhatsApp options described above, communication is encrypted end-to-end and messages self-destruct after reading them.

The peculiarity of this software is that it hides the messages even on the receiver’s screen so that if the receiver wants to go beyond a series of gray blocks, he will have to press his finger on the messages to be able to read them. Immediately after, the messages disappear, both from the phone and from the server. Not even those responsible for the application have access to the information exchanged by its users.

Sending files to individuals to groups, in any format, is also protected with encryption and is also ephemeral. Whatever you send (photos, voice messages, documents, or videos) it will disappear without a trace once read.

Pros

  • Comprehensive end-to-end encryption
  • Messages self-destruct after reading
  • No data is stored on the server
  • ScreenShield – Screen Capture Protection
  • Secure file sharing

Cons

  • Free plan limits file submission
  • Trace removal could be used for dishonest purposes

So the above was the list of best alternatives to WhatsApp in 2021. The apps we recommend on this list are known for their strong encryption.

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