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Tox
All
4
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
1
Top
Pro
Privacy focused
Tox uses military grade encryption and works completely peer-to-peer.
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Top
Con
Early stages of development
Since Tox is relatively new, it has important features missing (like group video) and requires a proper code review before it can be deemed reliable and ready for everyday use.
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Top
Pro
Free and open source
The code is licensed under GPL (may change in the future) and is available on GitHub.
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Top
Pro
Multiple front-ends for multiple platforms available
At the moment there is no official Tox client, but a selection of 32 and 64 clients for Windows, OS X, Linux and Android is available.
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here
178
28
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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
ooVoo Video Chat
All
4
Experiences
Pros
4
Top
Pro
Web video chat
Browser-based video call allows the creator of the web chat to invite non-ooVoo users into the call via email, instant messaging, or social network.
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Top
Pro
File sharing
Send files (up to 50MB) to any ooVoo contact quickly and securely.
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Top
Pro
Video messaging
Video messages up to 100 minute long (50 minutes for a fee) can be recorded and sent to another user, to email, or shared on YouTube.
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Top
Pro
Video chat and text chat between a total of 12 people at a time
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5
0
Zulip
All
9
Experiences
Pros
6
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
Helps keep track of different conversations
Instead of rooms or channels Zulip is built around topics. This allows you to have multiple conversations at the same time without conversations interfering with each another. It also allows you to reference conversations without clutter.
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Top
Con
No End-to-End Encryption
Not even for private one-to-one messages, let along group chats.
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Top
Pro
Free and open source software
Zulip is free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license.
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Top
Con
Takes some getting used to
As most chat software uses the concept of channels or rooms, getting in the habit of splitting each topic off in a separate category can require some getting used to and discipline.
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Top
Pro
Easy asynchronous conversations
Its threaded model helps people working in different timezone's communicate effectively.
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Top
Pro
Apps for every platform
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Top
Pro
Hosted or on-premise
With data export tools so you can migrate.
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Top
Pro
Intuitive interface
I struggled with Slack, never finding the settings I like to adjust. With Zulip never had such issues.
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Specs
Platforms:
Web, iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS, Linux, terminal
License:
Apache 2
Hosting options:
Hosted and Self-hosted
Service integrations:
Yes
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Experiences
Free/Paid
33
5
Jitsi
All
12
Experiences
Pros
7
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Con
Crashes on MacOS Monterey
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Top
Pro
Open-source
Project available on github for anyone to contribute to or use.
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Top
Con
Abandoned Android development
They switched focus to Jitsi Meet client for Android.
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Top
Pro
Cross platform
Mac, Windows & Linux availability.
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Top
Con
Uses Java
Not a native app, takes awhile to load.
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Top
Pro
Video calls
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Top
Con
Gui not as slick or streamlined as competitors
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Top
Pro
OMEMO encryption without plugin
Secure Jabber Texting, better than legacy sms texting.
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Top
Pro
Supports SIP accounts
well implemented SIP SIMPLE (texting), SIP presence, XCAP.
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Top
Pro
Supports XEP-0016 and privacy Lists
Jabber Texting apps without Privacy Lists are WOEFULLY deficient.
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Top
Pro
Encryption out of the box
Encryption for chat, desktop sharing, and web confrencing available.
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Specs
Platforms:
Android, iOS, Linux, MacOS, Windows,
Technology:
Java
Videoconferencing:
Yes
Media:
Yes
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Experiences
Get it
here
86
13
Brosix
All
8
Experiences
Pros
6
Cons
2
Top
Pro
Excellent solution for companies who would like to encrypt their office communication
Brosix uses strong 256-bit encryption that secures ALL communication channels.
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Top
Con
Not enough Admin controls
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Top
Pro
Brosix is available on all platforms
This includes Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, Mac.
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Top
Con
Poor mobile version
The mobile version of the application contains only a few of the features that the Desktop client has.
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Top
Pro
Easy to use
Brosix IM facilitates the internal communication and increases office productivity.
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Top
Pro
Affordable
For $1.70 per user per month voice & video chat, screen-sharing sessions, send unlimited files regardless of the size, etc.
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Top
Pro
Great admin tools
The Enterprise version of Brosix allows the Administrator to manage their own and unique network. The Admin has also full-control over the archives of all chats within the network.
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Top
Pro
Easy to use
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Experiences
2.10
8
2
Twake
All
4
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
Great interface
Twake has a modern UI/UX
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Top
Con
Not many integrations yet
There's not a lot of integration, but it's easy to talk to the developers and build with them what we need.
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Top
Pro
Open source
Twake is on open source (https://github.com/TwakeApp/Twake)
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows / Mac / Linux / Android / iPhone
Price:
OPEN SOURCE
Publisher:
YES
Storage:
YES
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Open source
1
0
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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Top
Pro
Markdown support
Code snippets in chats can be highlighted with Markdown.
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Top
Pro
Simple interface
Element has a very simple interface, adding the ability for more inexperienced users to use it.
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Top
Pro
VOIP and Videoconferencing
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Top
Pro
Supports encryption
Element allows for fully encrypted text, voice, and video chatting.
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Top
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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Top
Pro
Decentralized
An open network for secure, decentralized communication.
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Top
Pro
Self-hosting and federated network
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Top
Pro
Libre/open source
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Top
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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Top
Pro
Cross platform
Web browser Linux OS X Windows Android iOS
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Top
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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Top
Pro
Etherpad real-time document collaboration
An easy to activate integration that allows multiple authors to edit a document simultaneously.
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Top
Pro
File Sharing
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Top
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
Mumble
All
21
Experiences
Pros
17
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Pro
Code available to anyone to inspect or use, no spy- or adware
Mumble is available as a free download and source code is available on GitHub.
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Top
Con
A bit more difficult to set up than similar solutions
The process of generating and/or acquiring certificates can be time-consuming and a bit more complex than setting up a username/password authentication that's found in other clients. Similarly, setting up a server that includes configuring user permission system requires advanced technical knowledge.
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Top
Pro
Free and open-source server software
The server software Murmur is licensed under a free and open-source BSD-style license.
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Top
Con
Disconnect issues
Can have occasions of disconnect or users keep getting booted.
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Top
Pro
Can be used on a gamers preferred platform
Available on Windows, Linux, OS X, Android and iOS which allows for the user to choose what operating system works for them and still be able to use Mumble.
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Top
Con
Relatively poor voice quality
While Mumble's voice quality is fine, and you can understand what's being said, there is a noticeable difference between it and many other platforms.
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Top
Pro
Excellent voice quality
Since version 1.2.4, Mumble uses an audio codec named Opus that's specifically developed to provide low-latency voice communication over Internet. This means that there is no delay time, while audio still comes out clear.
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Top
Pro
Low latency and resource usage
Dedicated servers and low overhead allows Mumble to have the least delay between users speaking and others hearing their speech, which can be very important for fast paced games.
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Top
Pro
Push-to-Talk
A push-to-talk key allows you to only transmit audio when you want it. Others won't hear you chewing or your mom entering the room unless you want to.
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Top
Pro
Free to download and use as a client
Mumble is completely free, even hosting your own server.
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Top
Pro
Use of certificates offers more security and easy people management
Mumble uses certificates for user identification. A certificate can be generated by the user himself or issued by a third-party organization with organization certificates having 2 classes. A self-generated certificate is not tied to anything, a Class 1 certificate is tied to an e-mail address and a Class 2 certificate requires proof of identity. Depending on the server a different level of certification might be required.
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Top
Pro
Server works on Raspberry Pi
Mumble server side is easy to setup and works smooth even on Raspberry Pi, which is pretty short on resources.
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Top
Pro
Easily overlay over game
An in-game overlay can be enabled to show users in the channel or users talking. Overlay can be disabled completely or on a per-game basis by going to Settings->Overlay. This allows for users to see their chat but not obstruct the game they are playing.
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Top
Pro
Sub-channels
By default, only users in the same channel can hear each other. Channels can be nested to better organize yourself according to what you want to be talking about.
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Top
Pro
Secure & encrypted
This encryption is mandatory and cannot be disabled. The so-called control channel, which transports your chat messages and other non-time critical information, is encrypted with TLS using 256 bit AES-SHA. The voice channel carrying speech and positional audio is encrypted with OCB-AES 128 bit.
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Top
Pro
Good audio normalization
Mumble includes great automatic volume adjustment functionality that can be used to prevent big volume changes while still allowing good communication.
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Top
Pro
Positional audio
Mumble supports positional audio for over 50 games, including versions of Call of Duty, Battlefield and Counter-Strike. This allows you to hear the audio from the direction of the player speaking, making gameplay more immersive and giving competitive players an edge. You can find a full list of supported games here.
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Top
Pro
Customizable UI
Version 1.3 introduced skins, allowing you to customize your UI, either on your own (tutorial here) or by using one of the skins found here.
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Top
Pro
Portable version on PortableApps
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Top
Pro
Server can be put on alternative firmware wireless routers
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Specs
End-to-end encryption:
Yes
Audio recording:
Yes
Requires a Server:
Yes
Secure:
Yes
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Experiences
Free
644
94
Threema
All
13
Experiences
Pros
9
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Pro
Registration without phone number
Registration is handled by random generated IDs. No phone number needed.
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Top
Con
Not free
Unlike many other options Threema is not free as it costs $1.99 for the app.
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Top
Pro
Encrypted communication
Provides complete end-to-end encryption.
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Top
Con
Single device only
You cannot use multiple devices to send messages. However, it does have message mirroring on a web client.
See More
Top
Pro
Company behind Threema is based in Switzerland
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Top
Con
No cloud sync
E2E encryption means no cloud syncing of messages.
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Top
Pro
Servers in Switzerland
Privacy laws protect the data Threema has.
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Top
Pro
Supports encrypted group chats
See More
Top
Pro
Provides a web client
You can control and message with friends via Threema Web, the official web client for Threema.
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Top
Pro
Ability to send pics and videos
Threema supports sending media messages such as video, pics and even voice messages.
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Top
Pro
Group chat polls
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Top
Pro
Allows verification of contacts identity via QR Code
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Specs
Platforms:
Android / iOS / WP
Publisher:
Threema GmbH
File Size:
15M
Required Android Version:
4.0 and up
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Experiences
$1.99
62
20
Mattermost
All
16
Experiences
Pros
9
Cons
6
Specs
Top
Pro
Can be self-hosted
You don't need to rely on someone else's servers, you can host Mattermost on your own server.
See More
Top
Con
No easy End-to-End Encryption setup
See More
Top
Pro
One-line Docker install
With Docker set up, you can install Mattermost with the following command: docker run --name mattermost-dev -d --publish 8065:80 mattermost/platform For other cases, installation instructions can be found here.
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Top
Con
Features not available out of the box
Difficult to setup the many features it offers. The easy docker installation is for the application only, not it's feature sets. Requires a license for full-set of features.
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Top
Pro
Similar to Slack
Almost all features of Slack are available in Mattermost.
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Top
Con
Centralized
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Top
Pro
Free - OpenSource
You can download and use it as free for self-hosted server.
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Top
Con
Poorly made iOS app
Built natively using React it suffers from unresponsiveness, input lag, and sometimes broken services. Coupled with a bad user experience.
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Top
Pro
Mobile apps for android and iOS
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Top
Con
Poorly made Android app
The Android application is just a badly wrapped web-view which does not perform well and has no form of offline caching whatsoever.
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Top
Pro
You can change theme
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Top
Con
Self-Hosted
This doesn't work for every type of company. Mainly great for those concerned with privacy, security, compliance and control of your data/information.
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Top
Pro
Desktop app for MacOS, Linux and Windows
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Top
Pro
Browser notifications
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Top
Pro
Mark-Down support
Yes, it supports markdown.
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Specs
Platforms:
Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS, Linux
License:
MIT
Hosting options:
Self-hosted
Service integrations:
Yes - Atlassian, Webhooks, Chatbots, Extensions
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Experiences
Free / paid
113
34
Pidgin
All
8
Experiences
Pros
5
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
Support for a wide range of additional chat services
Pidgin not only supports IRC, it also supports plenty of other services such as AIM, Google Talk, MSN, ICQ and plenty of others. This way, you can have all of your conversations in the same app and won't have to deal with multiple chat windows being open.
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Top
Con
Miserable IRC font controls (as of 2.13.0.17)
Does its best to avoid putting sensible default font controls in any place where you can get to it. And when it does grudgingly change it, based on system preferences (not local preferences), it does so in an inconsistent and unpredictable fashion.
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Top
Pro
Free and open source
Pidgin and its code is completely free and open source. Pidgin has no ads and no features behind a paywall.
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Top
Con
No native VoIP support
While there are plugins there is no built in support for VoIP in Pidgin which is time consuming to implement instead of being baked in from the jump.
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Top
Pro
Cross platform
The Pidgin instant messaging client is cross platform, working on Linux, Windows and OSX.
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Top
Pro
Convenient notification features
Like other quality IRC clients, Pidgin features notifications that the user can set in order to have a variety of things happen when the users is mentioned, such as an audio cue or changing the system tray icon.
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Top
Pro
Highly customisable with plugins
Pidgin not only has a large plugin library built-in, but also an array of third party plugins for a variety of functions.
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux
License:
GPL
Media:
Video send/receive, Images
Message history:
Optional
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Experiences
Get it
here
297
81
Stride (previously HipChat)
All
25
Experiences
Pros
16
Cons
8
Specs
Top
Con
Will be discontinued Feb 2019
Slack acquired Stride / Hip Chat. Both Stride and Hip Chat will cease to exist. Sad since they were quite usable.
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Top
Pro
Available on Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
You can access HipChat from pretty much every common platform. HipChat even allows chatting via SMS.
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Top
Con
Prioprietary (non-free/libre)
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Top
Pro
Powerful @mentions
You can ping people to get their attention even if they are not online by @mentioning them. Depending on how the person has set their account up it can be by notifications via in-app sounds, visual alerts, and even email, SMS, or mobile app push notifications.
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Top
Con
Reliability of service has been weak
The reliability of the hosted HipChat service, particularly in the early days of version 4.x, has not been a strong suit.
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Top
Pro
Huge list of integrations
Including Asana, Github, Zendesk, WordPress, MongoDB, TeamCity, JIRA, Confluence, PowerShell and more that 40 others.
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Top
Con
Free plan has limited storage
Free plan comes with 5GB of storage, where as paid plan has "Unlimited".
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Top
Pro
Cheap
Free with unlimited users, $2/user/month for voice + video calls, screencasts, full history retention and management. (Even enterprise feature like SAML)
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Top
Con
Only one-on-one video calls in free version
There is no option for multi-user conference calls.
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Top
Pro
Simple, easy to use
An intuitive, easy to overview interface listing both online and offline users.
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Top
Con
No emoji
There's no emoji support. Instead there are some strange custom emoticons which only make sense for people steeped in internet subculture and never get updated.
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Top
Pro
Embeds files
Things like photos get automatically embedded in the chat thread once you upload them.
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Top
Con
API calls are limited even on paid plan to 500 calls in 5min by default
This will force you to contact them when you need more calls.
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Top
Pro
Guest access
You can invite people to join conversations even if they don't have a HipChat account. HipChat will generate a link to share and the guest will only need to enter their name to join the conversation.
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Top
Con
Non-synced notifications
Messages read on one client don't sync their status to another client.
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Top
Pro
Desktop client
HipChat has an optional desktop client powered by Adobe AIR.
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Top
Pro
Good audio and video support
HipChat audio and video works on mobile platforms and web browsers.
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Top
Pro
"Rooms" for persistent group chat
Participate and keep tabs on ongoing discussions on particular topics or amongst certain groups of people.
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Top
Pro
Self-Hosting available
If you are worried about third-parties getting access to your data you should consider self-hosting. With self-hosting you are in control over where your data is stored, who has access to it. You will also not be vulnerable to exploits of a third-party provider.
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Top
Pro
Plentiful GIFs and custom Emoticons
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Top
Pro
Syntax coloring
Pasted code can be colored based on syntax.
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Top
Pro
Will be updated to have more functions in the future
A big company with experience will bring in more options like Google Apps One Time Login.
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Top
Pro
Reliability has been great
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Top
Pro
Powerful command system
E.g. part, away, all, here etc.
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Specs
Platforms:
Web iOS Android OSX Windows Linux
Hosting options:
Hosted & self-hosted
Service integrations:
Yes
Screensharing:
Yes
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Experiences
Get it
here
100
34
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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Top
Pro
Free of cost
The application is available free of cost.
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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
Pro
Media messaging
Videos, gifs, images, geolocation, and documents.
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Top
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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Top
Pro
Channels for one way broadcasting
Broadcasting channels suitable for announcing things.
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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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282
iMessage
All
15
Experiences
Pros
10
Cons
5
Top
Con
Not cross-platform
iMessage is not available on anything but Apple devices.
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Top
Pro
Secure end-to-end encryption
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Top
Con
Can't send separate texts to individuals who share a Contact record
iMessage is an utter disaster. It can't send separate texts to anyone who is on a shared Contact record but with separate mobile phone numbers (e.g., "Paul and Angie Smith"). It merges ALL threads that ever went to ANYONE on that shared Contact record. Want to text just the husband to set up a surprise party for the wife? Not possible. iMessage will ONLY add that new text to the EXISTING thread you had with the wife. Duh! iMessage is pitifully incompetent.
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Top
Pro
Cross-platform within Apple ecosystem
iMessage is available on iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac.
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Top
Con
Blocking Spam Messages takes 3 steps more than is needed
You have to open the message, select the sender, open info on the sender, then block sender. The default Android message app, select the message, block sender. it automatically deletes the message and blocks the sender.
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Top
Pro
Supports voice messages
Short voice recordings/messages can be quickly sent, and messages can be easily dictated into written messages as well.
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Top
Con
iCloud sync of message is not stable
Sometimes, the messages on different devices with the same ID will be different, the syncing function work poorly.
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Top
Pro
Free and unlimited messages over Wi-Fi and data
Messages clearly indicates whether messages are being sent over iMessage (blue) or SMS (green) where messaging rates apply. iMessages do not count as SMS messages with your carrier, instead they use a negligible amount of data to send over Wi-Fi and cellular data networks.
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Top
Con
Slow and unreliable
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Pro
Clear indicators for message delivery and receipt
The app indicates when messages have been sent, when they have been read, and when someone is typing.
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Top
Pro
Comes pre-installed
No need to download or sign up for a new service.
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Pro
Seamlesss switching between SMS messages
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Pro
Friends don't need to "sign up"
You can just message them using their existing phone number or Apple ID and they will get your message.
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Top
Pro
Clean UI
UI is minimalistic, and clear. And there is a plethora of stuff on the left of text box if you wanna use them.
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Pro
Apps and games for iMessage are available
For example, you can play games like pool or you can show someone a destination to go to.
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60
23
BBM Blackberry Messenger
All
3
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
1
Top
Pro
Feature rich
Video, voice, chat, file sharing, screen sharing and glympse enabled,
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Top
Con
Video is Blackberry only
BBM video is only available on BBOS 10 or the Blackberry Playbook.
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Top
Pro
Privacy oriented
End to end encryption.
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4
2
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
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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Top
Pro
Dark theme out of the box
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Top
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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Top
Pro
Low effort invite mechanics
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Top
Pro
Android app has push notifications
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Top
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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Top
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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Viber
All
21
Experiences
Pros
14
Cons
6
Specs
Top
Con
The company evades U. S. tax
The company uses the common practice of tax haven addresses in order to avoid paying US taxes despite being registered in Delaware.
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Top
Pro
Desktop apps allow texting, calling and enables transferring calls between devices
Viber has native apps for both Windows and Mac that allow you to send and receive messages from your desktop. You can also use the desktop to make and receive calls. Synchronizes between all devices you are using Viber on. Allows transferring calls between devices.
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Top
Con
Proprietary Software
Not Open Source.
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Top
Pro
Supports voice calls
Viber has really well implemented voice tech. It has comparable quality to Skype and you can even tranfer calls from your phone to your desktop seamlessly.
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Top
Con
No web client
You cannot login from the web to send and receive messages.
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Top
Pro
Completely free
Viber uses data connection and the app is free.
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Top
Con
Constantly on
Need apps like Greenify to stop it from being constantly on and active, even if you don't use it.
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Top
Pro
Clean interface
The interface is simple, functional and intuitive.
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Top
Con
Constant reminders of messages
If you don't check your messages (say your in a group chat and simply don't check all of them), it will flood your notifications.
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Top
Pro
See who of your contacts is using Viber quickly
Viber is tied to your phone number so it can quickly see who else in your contacts list is using the application.
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Top
Con
Doesn't sync well
Sync awfully between Phone and PC clients.
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Top
Pro
Android Wear support
Viber includes Android Wear support on Android 4.3 or higher and Viber 5.3 or higher.
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Top
Pro
Same protocol as used in Signal
Viber's protocol uses the same concepts of the "double ratchet" protocol used in Open Whisper Systems Signal application.
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Top
Pro
Public chats
It's possible to be a fly on the wall on other group or one-to-one chats that have been opened up to the public. These public chats are often promotional chats with celebrities.
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Top
Pro
Supports video calling over WiFi and data.
Can call friends using voice or video options.
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Top
Pro
Combines cellular and data messaging
This has an advantage in that if you text someone who uses Viber it will be free, if not it will just revert to SMS. This means you can replace your standard messaging app with Viber as well.
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Top
Pro
Keys only on device
Starting with Viber 6.0 the encryption keys are stored only on the clients themselves, not even Viber itself has access to them.
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Top
Pro
No need to create an account or add contacts
One of the best things about Viber is how it handles setup and sending messages. Viber uses your existing number as your ID, so you don't need to create a separate Viber account.
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Top
Pro
Supports 200 person group chat
Viber allows creating groups of up to 200 people on the Android version of Viber. It also has a cool "smart notifications" feature to prevent being overwhelmed with notifications if a lot of people are active in a chat group.
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Top
Pro
Insight and well documented encryption
Viber has made a documentation available, explaining in great details their encryption system and giving good insight on how it works.
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Specs
Platforms:
Android / iOS / WP / BB / Symbian / Windows / OSX / Linux
Publisher:
Viber Media S.a r.l.
File Size:
37M
Required Android Version:
2.3 and up
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Linphone
All
10
Experiences
Pros
4
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Pro
FOSS
Free and Open Source.
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Top
Con
UI not very intuitive
Implementation of Contacts and missing calls are not very intuitive. Splitted View (left Contacts, right Call-History) would be much better as current look&feel. UI don't mind the "less clicks are better" philosophy. It looks a bit thrown together. Some Icons here, some there.. no navigation strategy are used (like known from webpages)
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Top
Pro
Work well with FritzBox router
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Top
Con
Limited to flatpack installs
Yet another container service to keep up with.
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Top
Pro
Great SIP support
Basically every SIP provider supported.
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Top
Con
Doesn't ring on incoming calls
Even if the Audio-File exists and can be played in the Settings-Dialog, it doesn't ring for an incoming call. Worked some time ago, currently not.
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Top
Pro
Simplistic and clean UI
Over the years, its UI has changed and improved by a lot.
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Top
Con
No Plugins available to add external Address-Books for contacts
would be nice to be able to add NextCloud, GoogleContacts or other Cloud-Services, or just an local Address-Book (like Thunderbird)
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Top
Con
Up-to-date version in 2020 can only be compiled from source
There is either an outdated version in Ubuntu repos, official flatpak install has been broken for over 6 months, so you're left with compiling from source.
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, Mobile
License:
GNU v3
Multi Language Support:
Yes
End-to-end encryption:
SRTP, ZRTP, DTLS
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WhatsApp
All
15
Experiences
Pros
6
Cons
8
Specs
Top
Pro
Straightforward interface
The interface is very simple, fast and easy to use. You can start using it as soon as the app has been downloaded - it does not require setting anything up or registering. You can communicate with anyone in your contacts list that also uses WhatsApp. Includes useful features like seeing when a contact is currently available or typing.
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Top
Con
Shares meta data with Facebook
WhatsApp shares your messaging meta data with Facebook if you do not opt-out in the settings. If you use the same phone number for WhatsApp and Facebook, the profiles can easily be linked. See https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/general/26000016
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Top
Pro
Widely used
WhatsApp reported 1.5 billion users in 2018. Your friends are most likely already using WhatsApp, so it's easy to get setup.
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Con
Tied to carrier phone number
WhatsApp cannot be used by people without a smart phone with an active cell plan. If your phone is lost or damaged, or if your phone number changes, you cannot get messages sent by friends without them updating your phone number. You cannot send message to them until you are able to get SMS messages at your phone number.
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Pro
Effortlessly builds your contacts by using your phone number as identification
WhatsApp will automatically find all of your contacts currently using Whatsapp and add them to your contacts. This makes it really easy to setup and given that it's the most popular messaging app it's likely that a lot of your contacts are already using it.
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Top
Con
Proprietary
Not open source.
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Top
Pro
Message mirroring on web app
WhatsApp can be used from the desktop via Chrome, Firefox and Opera browsers. Accessing it requires using the Android app to scan the QR code that's presented on web.whatsapp.com.
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Top
Con
Hard to migrate history cross platform
Migrating your chat history from Android to iOS or the other way around is not so simple. In some cases it requires a 3rd party app and in some the only way is to migrate specific chats one by one.
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Top
Pro
Signal protocol
Whatsapp uses the state-of-the-art Signal protocol that ensure strong end-to-end encryption.
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Top
Con
Web interface uses message mirroring
To use your computer to send messages your phone must be on with a consistent data connection.
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Top
Pro
One-on-one texts can be encrypted
WhatsApp has implemented end to end encryption for messages sent on it's service. Even WhatsApp has no way to read a users messages.
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Con
Single device
You cannot use the same WhatsApp account on multiple devices (e.g. a tablet, a PC and a cellphone). The account is tied to the device with the specific cellphone number. Chat history is deleted when you sign in to a new account, unless you have created a backup.
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Top
Con
No cloud sync
Messages are not stored on WhatsApp server for privacy and security reasons.
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Top
Con
Limitation on shareable file sizes
WhatsApp now allows users to share files of any type, but there is still a 16 MB size limit.
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Specs
Platforms:
Android, iOS, Web, Mac, Windows, Windows Phone
Publisher:
WhatsApp Inc.
File Size:
100 MB
Required Android Version:
2.3.3 or above
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