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Element (formerly Riot)
All
16
Experiences
Pros
15
Specs
Top
Pro
Bridges to other networks
You're not confined within Element's or even Matrix garden, and you don't have to make users of other networks switch to Matrix.
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Pro
Markdown support
Code snippets in chats can be highlighted with Markdown.
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Pro
Simple interface
Element has a very simple interface, adding the ability for more inexperienced users to use it.
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Pro
VOIP and Videoconferencing
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Pro
Supports encryption
Element allows for fully encrypted text, voice, and video chatting.
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Pro
Widgets support
Want to watch that flick at YouTube and discuss it at the same time? Have Grafana graphs stacked above your DevOps team chat? Collaboratively edit Google Docs and chat over without switching applications? This is possible with Element.
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Pro
Decentralized
An open network for secure, decentralized communication.
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Pro
Self-hosting and federated network
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Pro
Libre/open source
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Pro
Search
Search messages in your current room, or all the rooms you're in. Not subject to a message history limit like Slack.
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Pro
Cross platform
Web browser Linux OS X Windows Android iOS
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Pro
Large existing community
With public rooms for many people, and you can create your own and let people from the community join.
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Pro
Etherpad real-time document collaboration
An easy to activate integration that allows multiple authors to edit a document simultaneously.
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Pro
File Sharing
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Pro
Supports text, voice, video
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Specs
Platforms:
MacOS, Windows, Linux, Android, Browser, iOS
License:
Apache License 2.0
Publisher:
New Vector Ltd
End-to-end encryption:
Yes (optional)
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Experiences
Free
792
103
Trillian
All
4
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
1
Top
Con
Supports all dead services.
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Pro
In-house server support
You can set up a dedicated server to hold your communications. Great for businesses that want to build their own infrastructure.
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Pro
Multiple networks in one place
Among them Yahoo!, Facebook, Skype, Google, AIM, ICQ, XMPP, MSN. You can have multiple accounts associated with each service.
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Pro
Group chat
Trillian to Trillian group chat is available.
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38
12
Disa
All
21
Experiences
Pros
11
Cons
9
Specs
Top
Con
Doesn't support most messaging apps
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Top
Pro
Does what it's supposed to do, without bloatware
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Top
Con
Disa doesn't follow the Google Design Guidelines
Hamburger Menu/Navigation Drawer (Side Menu): https://www.google.com/design/spec/patterns/navigation-drawer.html#navigation-drawer-content No Animations: https://www.google.com/design/spec/animation/meaningful-transitions.html https://www.google.com/design/spec/animation/delightful-details.html Empty Pages/States: https://www.google.com/design/spec/patterns/empty-states.html# Maybe a Launch screen?: https://www.google.com/design/spec/patterns/launch-screens.html#launch-screens-branded-launch
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Pro
Open source plugin API
Everyone can develop their own plug-ins.
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Top
Con
Does not support Google SMS
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Pro
Easy to use
Disa is very easy to use and has an open source API, so many new services will be added soon.
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Con
Closed source
Disa is closed source, so the development speed is capped of their team, no external developer can help or add features that are not on the route of the team.
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Pro
Customizable notifications
Ability to set different notification sound/vibration/led based on the plugin.
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Con
Doesn't support WhatsApp at the moment
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Pro
Unified conversations
Ability to merge conversations from the same contact on different services.
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Con
Attaching pictures suddenly failed; no working solution.
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Pro
Friendly developers and generally good G+ community
Fast, decent replies to questions, even if they've been asked before.
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Con
Smaller development team leading somewhat slow implementation of requested features
Though the main development (framework, etc) is moving along fine, things like quick reply and sending multiple images at once should've been in quicker.
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Pro
Many requested features
The developer team does actually listen to the community and adds requested features.
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Con
Constantly asks to re-authenticate WhatsApp
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Pro
Pushbullet support
Disa works great with Pushbullet, allowing you to answer from your PC.
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Top
Con
Doesn't let you customize notifications per conversation or contact
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Pro
Many languages
Help and support in many languages.
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Pro
Disa takes privacy much more serious
Currently, the Disa team knows less about you than the website you're currently visiting.
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Pro
Great material design
With color-changing design with custom colors for each service.
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Specs
Platforms:
Android
Publisher:
Disa.im
File Size:
34M
Required Android Version:
4.0 and up
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Experiences
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249
66
IM+
All
9
Experiences
Pros
9
Top
Pro
Can send encrypted messages
IM+ has the most extensive client support out of any of its competition and is the only app with the ability to send secure, off-the-record messages.
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Pro
Simple user interface
IM+ does the core IM experience incredibly well. The layout is intuitive to use and the very high app store reviews indicate how stable and user friendly the app is.
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Pro
Advanced chat history
Access your messaging history in the app or on the web
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Pro
View Twitter feed
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Pro
Off-the-Record Messaging (As a paid upgrade)
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Pro
Group Chats
Skype, MSN, AIM, and ICQ only
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Pro
Photo, voice, video and IM messaging
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Pro
Web application to chat from your desktop or laptop
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Pro
Extensive client support
IM+ has the most extensive client support out of any of its competition: Facebook Skype MSN/Live Messenger GTalk Yahoo! AIM/iChat ICQ Twitter Jabber Renren VKontakte Odnoklassniki.Ru Mail.Ru Agent Gadu-Gadu MeinVZ SINA Weibo mig33 Fetion Mamba Yandex IM.
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Experiences
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58
21
Telegram
All
37
Experiences
Pros
28
Cons
8
Specs
Top
Pro
Free and convenient large file sharing
Copy/paste videos, gifs, images, geolocation, documents, and even executable files. Drag over files for practically any time up to 2GB in size. Images can be compressed, too.
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Top
Con
Not fully open source
Telegram has an open API and protocol free for everyone, but the backend software is not open source. Therefore 100% privacy can not be evaluated.
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Pro
Free of cost
The application is available free of cost.
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Con
Can only be used with a phone number
It is not possible to activate and use Telegram by mail etc. You need a phone number.
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Pro
Privacy focused
In addition to the end-to-end encryption [only in secret chats] that provides privacy to communications, the app also includes self destructing timers for chats, and the ability to permanently delete messages, yours and theirs, from your and their devices.
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Con
Only "Secret Chat" messages are encrypted end to end
The only way to get end-to-end encryption (client-client) using Telegram is to use the Secret Chat function, anything through the service is server-client encrypted. Also secret chat is only implemented in the mobile apps, meaning there is no way to encrypt messages end-to-end when using the desktop client or the web browser client.
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Pro
Media messaging
Videos, gifs, images, geolocation, and documents.
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Con
"Secret Chat" feature is not available for desktop client
Secret chats with end to end encryption are only available on mobile apps.
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Pro
Channels for one way broadcasting
Broadcasting channels suitable for announcing things.
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Con
No source code sintax highlighting
Telegram does not have source code syntax highlighting, making it difficult to share code snippets.
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Pro
Beautiful UI
Very customizable with a lot of clean looking options.
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Top
Con
Does not work for visually impaired
Doesn't work for visually impaired.
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Top
Pro
Possible to send photos and videos without compression
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Top
Con
Does not support spherical 360° photos
Spherical 360° photos becoming more popular these days, but Telegram does not support such format.
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Pro
Supergroups of up to 200,000 people
In Supergroups, anyone along with admins can delete their messages from all sides. A message can be pinned to the top. All of the user's messages can be deleted by an administrator, and they can be banned and reported as well. Supergroups can have a public link (outside of Asia, due to high spam volumes), which is also a username.
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Top
Con
Does not support text messaging
You can NOT make it your default text messaging App.
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Pro
Two-step verification
You can set up an additional password to your account, which can be reset by your email. You don't have to use an email if you do not want to. If you lose access to your email or forget your password, you will be able to reset it via text message if your account is over seven days old and will receive it within a week (in case you recover anything before then).
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Pro
Secure
Telegram uses an open source MTProto encryption protocol that provides complete end-to-end encryption for secret chats. To show off their confidence in the protocol the company behind Telegram has organized $200,000 and $300,000 challenges to break the encryption. So far there have been no winners.
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Pro
Saved messages
You can write messages to yourself. You can write some notes, add links, and see everything across all your devices.
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Pro
Cloud chat keys are kept in different jurisdiction
Even though encryption used for cloud-based storage (e.g. Gmail, Facebook, iCloud) may not be as secure as end-to-end encryption or zero-knowledge storage, Telegram does the most that it can by holding keys to chats in different jurisdictions, requiring intergovernmental cooperation to obtain the keys. This is aside from whatever other security measures have been taken, of course.
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Pro
Multiplatform native client apps
There are native desktop, mobile and web client apps, that are optimized for speed and are light on memory usage.
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Pro
Open source client apps
Client apps are open source, making whole service more trustworthy.
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Pro
Unlimited storage
Unlimited number of files can be stored forever on the cloud. You can upload files up to 1.5 GB each.
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Pro
Voice and video messages
You can post voice and video messages if you are too lazy to write text messages.
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Pro
Group Voice Chat
This Discord-like feature adds to the interactivity of the application.
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Pro
Pinned Messages
You can pin messages to the top of groups or supergroups so members will see them when opening the group.
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Pro
Self-destruct messages
Messages in individual chats can be set to self destruct on a timer. They will disappear after the timer expires. Messages in all new chats can be set to self-destruct with a global auto-delete timer in Settings > Privacy and Security > Auto-Delete Messages.
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Pro
Edit or delete messages after sending them
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Pro
Banned in China
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Pro
Save time with inline bots and link previews
Unfortunately, on the desktop videos don't play, but images are viewable without visiting popular websites like imgur and Instagram. You can play YouTube videos and others within the app, so you don't need to embed code or anything. With inline bots, such as @gif, @pic/bing, @vid/YouTube, etc, you can look things up without leaving the client or chat that you're in. Simply type the name and some keywords and wait for the results to load.
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Pro
@mentions
You can ping people to get their attention by @mentioning them.
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Pro
Desktop app handles HiDPI
The desktop app has a built in setting to scale the UI of the app up to 200% which allows for those with 4k monitors/screens to use the app without scaling issues.
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Pro
High quality calls
Uses the latest GPL audio codecs, such as Opus, an adaptative high-quality codec that supersedes AAC at any bitrate.
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Pro
Customer support is within the app
Although it's volunteer based, but still pretty top-notch if available, which it tends to be.
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Pro
Large groups can have channels called 'Topics'
Topics are now available in groups of 100+ members and have a sleek two-column layout and new buttons to quickly navigate. A default topic called General is now in every topic group, holding the group’s service messages and previous message history.
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Pro
Popular in the USA
On SimilarWeb you can see that Telegram is on the top 15 among all communication apps.
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Specs
Platforms:
Web, Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, macOS, BSD, Windows phone, UWP
Publisher:
Various companies affiliated with Telegram
File Size:
2048 MB
End-to-end encryption:
Secret chats
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Experiences
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282
Signal
All
16
Experiences
Pros
10
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Pro
Provides security and privacy
Signal uses an advanced end to end encryption protocol that provides privacy for every message every time.
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Top
Con
Needs access to your phone number and contacts to work
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Pro
Free and open source
Signal is free and open source software, enabling anyone to verify its security by auditing the code. It's the only private messenger that uses open source, peer-reviewed cryptographic protocols to keep your messages safe.
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Top
Con
Single device
Signal can only be registered to one mobile device at a time. But you can link Signal to Signal Desktop.
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Top
Pro
Supports encrypted group chats
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Top
Con
Servers hosted in the US
A security risk due to National Security letters, which require giving up data to the US state, and making it illegal to disclose that.
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Pro
Has a desktop app
Signal Desktop can be used on multiple devices and has most features of the Android version, although it still requires you to register with your phone.
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Top
Con
Unreliable notifications
Sometimes messages won't be received if the Signal app has been closed for a long time or hasn't been opened after booting the device.
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Pro
Supports sharing of various different media types
Signal supports: emoji, pictures, videos, audio, contacts, any location and GIF.
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Top
Con
Poor support
Their E-mail adress for support are not working. They have a Community support on here. Sometimes if you need a support, you need to create an account on their forum and need to share a topic and wait for long time.
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Top
Pro
Note to Self feature
Allows you to "send: messages to yourself and sync to desktop so you can use Signal as a kind of encrypted Pushbullet alternative
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Top
Pro
You can easily view all media exchanged
You can easily view all media shared in the chat without scrolling back to when it was shared.
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Pro
Annonymous Sender (Encrypted)
The sender credentials can be encrypted with the rest of the message, leaving only the recipient address readable by the Signal server. Even if Signal wanted they couldn't see who is talking with who by this mean.
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Pro
Works everywhere in every country
Unlike most messenger apps, Signal works reliably in all countries by securely circumventing internet censorship.
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Pro
Recommended by Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden uses this messenger and recommends it to everyone who is concerned about his privacy.
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Specs
Platforms:
Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, Mac OS X
Publisher:
Open Whisper Systems
End-to-end encryption:
Yes
Media:
images / audio / video / files / contacts / GIFs / location
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Experiences
Free
687
181
Discord
All
32
Experiences
Pros
22
Cons
9
Specs
Top
Pro
User friendly
Discord follows the same type of interface design popularised by Slack, which is extremely clean and attractive, and doesn't clutter the interface with unnecessary chrome and cruft.
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Top
Con
Proprietary software
Discord is closed-source, meaning their code isn't available for inspection or reproduction
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Pro
Free for unlimited users
Unlimited amount of users.
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Top
Con
Based on Electron = eats a lot of ram
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Pro
Can be used in browser
Users can invite others to join a Discord channel via a web link, which means no installation is required to use the software - which is one of the big typical barriers to entry for social software.
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Top
Con
Some functions cut out and available only with "Nitro" subscription
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Top
Pro
Good 1-click invite system
Discord allows inviting people to a specific channel with a link. Links can be set to expire. Low effort/passive invite mechanics.
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Top
Con
Developer's previous company was sued for privacy violations, among other things
See: http://classactionlawsuitsinthenews.com/class-action-lawsuit-complaints/openfeint-green-international-privacy-class-action-lawsuit-complaint/ https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/closing-letters/openfeint-inc Discord's privacy policy also states that while they might not sell your data, a company they get sold to will quite possibly attain said data and thus may be in "more" shady hands.
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Top
Pro
Easy setup
You can quickly send invites to people and they can join in using the web client without having to create an account or install the app.
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Top
Con
No self-hosting avaliable
Discord is wholly hosted by Discord (the company), you cannot run private instances, and all servers are hosted on their infrastructure. For most people, this won't really impact their usage.
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Top
Pro
Has low-latency VoIP support
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Top
Con
Not a generic "team chat" tool
All the UI and the features are aimed specifically at communicating with your gaming team/clan.
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Top
Pro
Supports video and text communication
Behaves and looks like Slack for regular text channels, but with the ability to create voice channels as well
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Top
Con
Very unstable on Linux
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Top
Pro
Numerous controls for setting member roles.
Deny access, Deny write message, Allow read messages etc.
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Con
Anti-privacy license terms
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Top
Pro
Ability to create bots
Discord provides an API for creating custom bots.
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Top
Con
Can change "Now Playing" status to something inappropriate
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Top
Pro
Open source bots and management tools
Discord has a wide variety of bots for things from airhorn noises to automated server management, to leveling systems for chat. The bot API is open and there are dedicated sites for finding bots.
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Pro
Game integration
Discord shows which game each user is currently playing, which among other things helps users to form PUGs with minimal hassle.
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Pro
Dark theme out of the box
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Pro
Familiar for Slack users
For those that are used to the way Slack (a similar chat client) works, Discord will be familiar in its use, which lowers the learning curve quite a bit for those that have switched or tried Slack before.
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Pro
Low effort invite mechanics
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Pro
Android app has push notifications
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Pro
Syntax highlighting and Markdown support
The support is limited but still exists. It's a killer feature for dev teams.
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Top
Pro
DDoS mitigation
Discord prevents users from being DDoSed out of games.
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Pro
Targeting of roles
Targeting roles allows for quickly requesting someone from a group e.g. artist, moderator, etc.
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Top
Pro
Ability to thread channels
Ability to create channel categories for channels to sit inside of.
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Pro
Friendly payment policy
Free account have no tangible restrictions. Premium account is just a way to say "thank you" to developers. And it work for all servers of discord (not as in slack). And it can be purchased by one who wants. In contrast to Slask, where all active members of the server should be "premium".
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Top
Pro
Language localization
Have localization for many language, including Russian.
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Top
Pro
Does not allow NSFW related things to be posted unless in a NSFW channel
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Specs
Platforms:
Web, Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android
Search:
Yes
Videoconferencing:
Yes
Audio recording:
No
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Built By the Slant team
Find the best product instantly.
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