Jeremy Molina

November 10, 2023

Messaging Apps that are Better than WhatsApp

There are a zillion WhatsApp alternatives, let’s discover a few better options.
Better Messaging Apps Than WhatsApp.jpg


Update: Telegram has recently announced a web client 07/01/2021 (MM/DD).

By now you know that we are not a fan of Facebook or any of their products, it won’t surprise you to know that I don’t use WhatsApp. But why?

There are a few reasons I don’t use or like WhatsApp; they don’t care about innovation; Privacy, what privacy, it’s a Facebook-owned product and the worst of all the things it has is the “convenience” it offers.

We don’t like the “convenience” of anyone having our number and feeling entitled to message us 24 x 7; We don’t like the convenience of sending terrible picture quality either  Smartphone Cameras compared to a Pro Camera Or the zillion groups everybody makes.

Anyway, let’s go through some alternatives now:

iMessage’s

Pros

  • Pre-installed on all the iPhones
  • Supports Video, Voice Messaging, and Reaction to received/sent messages
  • Easy and clean design
  • Works well!

Cons

  • iMessage only works with other Apple devices
  • It needs an Apple device to work
  • There is no Web Client; so, you need a Mac and a Phone to use the app from your desktop
  • Proprietary/close code

Google RCS

Pros

  • Pre-installed in all the new Android phones or can be installed on any Android phone
  • Supports Video, Voice Messaging, and Reaction to received/sent messages
  • Easy and clean design
  • Open-source protocol
  • Web client

Cons

  • Even though it is an open standard, some carriers developed their version, so it’s not compatible between different carriers. You can work around this by using Google Messages instead of your carrier or phone manufacturer's messaging app
  • Many users don’t even know their Messaging app supports RCS or what RCS is

Signal

Pros

  • Cross-platform; available in Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS (iPhone), iPad OS, Android
  • Privacy-focused
  • Clean UI
  • Security in mind
  • Supports Video, Voice Messaging, and Reaction to received/sent messages
  • Can replace your SMS app on Android, but it does not support RCS yet.

Cons

  • Security is inconvenient, so moving the account to a new device may be challenging for some users. Documentation hyperlink.
  • Few users, but growing rapidly because WhatsApp boycott
  • The desktop client could be better
  • No Web client

Telegram

Pros

  • Cross-platform; available in Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS (iPhone), iPad OS, Android
  • Privacy-focused
  • Clean UI
  • Security in mind
  • Supports Video, Voice Messaging, and Reaction to received/sent messages
  • Web Client

Cons

  • Not as many users like WhatsApp but it is growing rapidly because of the WhatsApp boycott; Businesses are creating their profiles here.
  • Russian-based (in case you care…) Messaging apps are very generic in their plainer form; however, Telegram has taught us that new features or a simple dark mode shouldn’t take 3 years to arrive, or those limitations are because of the lack of innovation within some other platforms.

Messaging apps are very generic in their plainer form; however, Telegram has taught us that new features or a simple dark mode shouldn’t take 3 years to arrive, or that limitations are because of the lack of innovation within some other platforms.

We hope that Google RCS gets more popularity, even though I hate Google in a way I appreciate their effort to launch an Android equivalent to Apple iMessage’s product.

Anyway, I made up my mind about deleting WhatsApp two years ago. What about you, which options would you use, and why?


About Jeremy Molina

Visit my blog at www.jeremymolina.com | Technology geek, Blogger and Critical Account Manager at Cloudera. Find me at X (Twitter), Threads and LinkedIn.