3 alternatives to WhatsApp to chat without sacrificing your privacy

It’s not just WhatsApp in life. The instant messaging application, acquired by Facebook in 2014, had until now respected the personal data of its users fairly well. But things are changing, and WhatsApp will now force its users to share their data with Facebook, without the possibility of refusing. If users have until February 8, 2021 to execute, the recalcitrant will therefore have no choice but to turn their heels in search of an alternative.

And there is no shortage of alternatives when it comes to instant messaging. If all of them are obviously not at the level of WhatsApp in terms of functionality, some come out on top and have nothing to be ashamed of. We have selected for you three credible alternatives that have everything you need to replace WhatsApp at short notice. It now remains to try to convince those around you to migrate to one of these solutions.

1. Signal

• Download Signal for Android (Free)
• Download Signal for iPhone (Free)
• Download Signal for Windows (Free)
• Download Signal for macOS (Free)
• Download Signal for Linux (Free)

Used by Edward Snowden or Jack Dorsey, the boss of Twitter, the Signal messaging application, which has made confidentiality its hobbyhorse, is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to be able to exchange with loved ones without sitting on their life. private.

Born in 2014, Signal is developed by the Signal Foundation, an American non-profit organization created by Moxie Marlinspike, the CEO of Signal, who is also a cryptographer and security researcher, and Brian Acton, one of the co-founders of WhatsApp who left the ship in 2017. The application is open source and takes care of securing your messages using an end-to-end encryption system, based on Signal Protocol, a free cryptographic protocol.

Signal thus promises not to be able to read your messages or listen to your calls. Signal integrates all the best in instant messaging and will allow you to send text and voice messages, to exchange photos, videos and GIFs, but also to make audio and video calls with your loved ones.

To use Signal, registration using your mobile number is required. You can also use messaging on Windows and macOS after scanning a QR Code, as WhatsApp offers.

2. Telegram

• Download Telegram for Android (apk) (Free)
• Download Telegram for iPhone (Free)
• Download Telegram for Windows (Free)
• Download Telegram for macOS (Free)
• Download 32-bit Telegram for Linux (Free)
• Download Telegram 64 bit for Linux (Free)

Also open source, Telegram is an instant messaging application launched in 2013 by the Dourov brothers, fierce opponents of Vladimir Putin. Focusing on the security of users and their personal data, Telegram encrypts all messages and even offers a function to send self-destructing messages.

The application obviously offers the possibility of making audio and video calls, but can also serve as a platform for exchanging files. Telegram imposes no size limit on the photos, videos and documents you exchange on the platform.

But what mainly differentiates this messaging service from the competition is its social side. Telegram thus hosts public conversation channels, similar to online discussion forums, in which up to 200,000 members can exchange views. The application, which requires registration using a phone number, is available on iOS and Android but also on Windows, macOS and Linux.

3. Viber

• Download Viber for Android (apk) (Free)
• Download Viber for iPhone (Free)
• Download Viber for Windows (Free)
• Download Viber for macOS (Free)
• Download Viber for Linux (Free)

Although a proprietary application, the Viber application, acquired in 2014 by Rakuten, embeds all the tools that one is able to expect from an instant messaging application. The application therefore makes it possible to send text messages, to call in audio and video, to launch discussions and group calls, to share files or to configure self-destructing messages.

All messages exchanged on Viber are end-to-end encrypted using a protocol that is rooted in the protocol used by Signal.

Like Telegram, Viber will also allow you to participate in public discussions, while remaining discreet since, even if the application allows you to find people by name, it automatically hides users’ phone numbers. Also, in the event that you send the wrong message, Viber allows you to modify or delete the messages from all the interlocutors participating in a conversation.

Finally, registration for Viber is done using a phone number, and the use of the application will not be limited to the mobile application on Android or iOS since a desktop version for Windows, macOS and Linux will allow you to continue your conversations from a computer.