Don’t like the new WhatsApp privacy policy? Here are 5 WhatsApp alternatives to consider

  WhatsApp rolled out the new privacy policy and terms of service earlier this week

 It allows the company to share user data with other Facebook-owned and third-party apps

 If users refuse to share data with Facebook, they will have to stop using WhatsApp altogether.

 

WhatsApp users received an ultimatum of sorts this week from Facebook: agree to share your data with Facebook and advertisers or stop using WhatsApp. The company has made it mandatory for Users to share data with Facebook, among other things. If they refuse, users will have to quit WhatsApp. The new terms of service are set to take effect a month from now, on February 8th. This has led to a huge uproar among users, with many - including Tesla, SpaceX, and Boring Company CEO Elon Musk - coaxing one another to leave WhatsApp and shift to other social messaging platforms. In light of that, we've compiled a few WhatsApp alternatives that you can consider.

 

5 best WhatsApp alternatives:

 

WhatsApp:WhatsApp recently updated its privacy policy and Terms of Service, informing users how data is handled on the platform. The platform also revealed how it exchanged data with Facebook, among other things. Apart from altering its policies, WhatsApp also gave users until February 8,2021. to ‘Agree’ to the new terms of service if they want to continue using the app. This has caused several users to ditch the Facebook-owned messaging app and find other viable alternatives. So, without any further delays, here are the best WhatsApp alternatives you can migrate to.

 

Telegram: Telegram is arguably the most popular WhatsApp alternative for both Android and iOS. Telegram is a cross-platform messaging solution with end-to-end encryption that is free to use. Telegram claims to be more secure than WhatsApp as it uses the MTProto protocol. Apart from encrypted messages, Telegram also claims that it uses a distributed infrastructure. Telegram explains: “The relevant decryption keys are split into parts and are never kept in the same place as the data they protect.”

Signal: Another app that has grown to prominence since WhatsApp’s policy update is Signal. It is a cross-platform encrypted messaging service that is available on iOS, Android, and Windows. The platform is an open-source software application that uses end-to-end encryption for messages and media shared between users.

 

 

Threema: Threema is a paid messaging app that auto-deletes messages as soon as they are delivered. The app stores group information and contact lists on your phone and not on its cloud server. An eight-digit Threema ID can be used to communicate with others on the platform as opposed to a unique phone number. It also features end-to-end encryption for messages, voice calls, file sharing and group chats.

 

 

Element: Element is a messaging service that provides end-to-end encryption for your videos, voice, and text. Messages on Element can be saved wherever you want them to be saved. Element offers a number of free and paid versions of its messaging service. It is compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, and major browsers.

 

Viber: Viber is a calling and messaging app that offers audio and video calling, group chats with a self-destruct feature, and more. All Viber calls and chats are protected by built-in end-to-end encryption. Viber is free to use; all you require is a data plan or Wi-Fi connection. It also offers a Self-Destruct feature that will allow you to automatically delete a message from a recipient’s phone after that recipient has read the message.