September 11, 2020
3469
0Is There a WhatsApp Alternative for Daily Chatting?
Many people cheered when Facebook decided to take over the WhatsApp messenger. The new owner promised that personal data would remain private and protected from third parties’ interference.
Why Is Secure Messaging Important In 2020? Read and protect yourself from each cyber threat!
Time passed by and the promise was gradually forgotten. Today, this has led to the need to change your messenger if you want to keep your personal data secure. Facebook’s developers just took away additional layers of privacy protection from the app. Their standard argument is that it’s for analytical data analysis.
We’ve already prepared the full-fledged analysis of WhatsApp. You can read Is WhatsApp Safe and Secure and decide whether to use this messenger or not.
Now, the days when we could perfectly trust this app are behind us. Therefore, the issue of replacing WhatsApp has become urgent. People want to use a proper WhatsApp alternative.
Fortunately, today, there are many WhatsApp alternatives in which privacy is really respected. In this article, you can find several multi-tasking and secure tools for private messaging everywhere.
Read Clash of The Titans: Telegram vs WhatsApp vs Utopia and choose the best messaging app for secure communication.
WhatsApp alternative list
Utopia is an anonymous platform that has a lot of built-in tools: instant messenger (uMessenger), secure file sharing (uMail), anonymous browser (Idyll), crypto container (uWallet) and more.
Utopia is a decentralized ecosystem that is based on a peer-to-peer architecture. In other words, it does not have a single server for storing data. Instead, Utopia creates a separate server for each user. Access to it is via a private key that is generated at the stage of anonymous registration.
For protection, the ecosystem uses multi-level encryption based on an elliptical curve and 256-bit AES. This method reliably protects and stores files.
uMessenger provides encrypted messages transfer. It can be either text or voice messages, and you can add different media files or attach stickers to messages. The messenger has a built-in function for creating private chats and channels. Everything is anonymous and uncensored.
Hoccer is a German messenger that is becoming popular all over the world. This is due to the high degree of security and anonymity of each user. It uses end-to-end encryption method for data protection.
Data encryption includes absolutely all messages and files: images, audio and video, contacts, messages, and geolocation. Hoccer does not limit the size or format of files to be transmitted. However, a call function is not provided in the app.
Registration is anonymous: users do not enter personal data when logging in. The app does not request a phone number, email address, etc.
The user may include further protection by using a password. IOS users can also take advantage of another additional feature: the app will take a picture of unauthorized persons who want to get access to the account.
This app focuses on calls, conferences, and a lot of other advanced actions. Also, Element Instant Messenger is focused on data privacy. The application is based on the Matrix protocol, and it has a very good reputation in the field of communication security. In addition, it uses an open source code that is constantly being upgraded to achieve maximum security.
Open Source vs Closed Source: what to choose for reliable protection of users’ data? Read the article and make the right choice.
Here is a list of privacy features of the app:
- No phone numbers. Users don’t need to specify personal phone numbers to start using the messenger.
- End-to-end encryption. It is used while sending and receiving messages. But the user should enable the feature manually (it doesn’t work by default).
- Control over message history. Users can make adjustments to the message history.
Element is available on popular mobile platforms, and it also helps to send and receive any type of file. It is possible to forward both minuscule .txt files and entire movies.
The perfect organization and successful choice of communication technologies make the app one of the most secure messengers.
Threema is a Swiss application for instant messaging between people. It uses E2E encryption for each transmitted message. Moreover, all messages will be deleted from the server after reading.
The only way to manage contacts and groups is from the source device. This function is blocked for the server. When contacts have been synced, Threema anonymously transfers them and encodes all data.
As a reliable WhatsApp alternative, it does not store metadata that includes the sender and receiver of the message. In other words, the level of data privacy is higher than its competitors.
The servers are located in Switzerland: this assures the privacy and security of using this application for communication.
Wire is a fairly new messenger. It was released in 2014 by a Swiss company. But the entire message exchange process takes place via German servers.
Wire is based on E2E encryption with Whisper systems. It stores metadata anonymously, like Telegram. However, this function can be disabled here.
In addition, there is a voice-over-IP function that allows making group calls, like on Skype. All incoming and outgoing calls are protected from listening and surveillance. That is, unlike WhatsApp, the app encrypts each voice and video call.
Did you hear about the Data Leak of Telegram User Base? We are shocked too! Read about the massive data leak in our blog.
Wickr Me is a popular messenger that is actively used to send important data by journalists, leaders of countries and other people who have really serious secrets.
Wickr Me uses a phone number for authorization. There are also various useful features, like emoticons or stickers.
The app does not save personal contacts on its own servers. Wickr Me does not store metadata and completely erases messages at the user’s request (without the possibility of recovery).
The app is free, contains no ads, and supports the most secure encryption technologies. It is a really decent alternative to WhatsApp.
Conclusion
WhatsApp has gained real popularity among users. Everybody thought that it was a perfect app that met all privacy standards. Under Facebook’s management, the service has further developed. It has added a lot of useful features that have made WhatsApp more competitive among other apps.
However, recently Facebook has turned the app into an advertising platform. And if you don’t want to leak your data to companies and constantly watch ads, you should consider changing your messenger.
Another Privacy Issue Of Facebook: Is There Any Solution? Read the previous article about the opposite side of Facebook.
