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Slant community chat on Discourse| 28 Recommended Products | Recommendations | Platforms | Publisher | Required Android Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 WhatsApp· · · | 28 | 5 | Android, iOS, Web, Mac, Windows, Windows Phone | WhatsApp Inc. | 2.3.3 or above |
| #2 Telegram· · · | 15 | 2 | Web iOS Android OSX Windows Linux | Telegram Messenger LLP | 2.2 and up |
| #3 Hangouts· · · | 13 | 1 | Web / iOS / Android / OSX / Chrome | Google Inc | Varies with device |
| #4 Messenger· · · | 12 | 1 | Android / iOS / WP | Varies with device | |
| #5 iMessage· · · | 10 | 1 | – | – | – |
| #6 Snapchat· · · | 7 | 0 | Android / iOS | Snapchat Inc | 4.0 and up |
Pro Straightforward interface
The interface is very simple, fast and easy to use. WhatsApp does a great job of focusing on the basics behind messaging. The app is simple to use, fast & very polished. You can start using it as soon as the app has been downloaded - it does not require setting anything up or registering. You...
Pro Hugely popular
WhatsApp reported 800 million users in April, 2015. Your friends are most likely already using WhatsApp, so it's easy to get setup.
Con Not a multi device app
No support for the iPad, the app has support for possibly all Android tablets but only the iPhone on the iOS platform can install WhatsApp.
Pro Beautiful UI
Very customizable with a lot of clean looking options.
Con Only "Secret Chat" messages are encrypted end to end
The only way to get end to end encryption using Telegram is to use the Secret Chat function, anything through the service is not encrypted.
Con MTProto encryption protocol may not be secure
Reasons are outlined here
Pro No need to create a separate account if you use any other Google service
Hangouts uses Google account credentials. If you use any other Google service, then you already have an account set up.
Pro Group video support
If you have signed in your Google account, Hangouts allows making video calls with up to 10 people or one-on-one if you haven't. There are business, education and government solutions that increase the participant count to for video calls to 15 and offers support. Additionally, you can switch...
Con Lack of end to end encryption
Communications are encrypted between client and Google servers but not from sending client to receiving client. This means that there is still a possibility for someone other than the receiver to read your message if they have access to internal Google servers. But it allows also lightweight chat h...
Con Weaker compared to Android counterpart
A list of features that are in the Android version of Hangouts are missing in the iOS version. Most notably SMS support.
Pro Uses Facebook friends to create a contacts list
Allows communicating with anyone who's a friend on Facebook.
Pro Great UI
User interface of the application is clean, intuitive and easy to overview.
Con Lack of privacy
Messenger is owned by Facebook. Based on their privacy policy, this means that any information you provide (including messages sent) are used by Facebook to profile you and sell access to your data to advertisers.
Con Lack of end-to-end encryption
Secret (end-to-end encrypted) chats are only supported in one-to-one messages, and are not enabled by default, and the encryption has not been verified independently.
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.
Con Not cross-platform
iMessage is not available on anything but Apple devices.
Pro Allows sharing photos, videos and texts that self-destruct
All Snapchat communications disappear after they've been viewed. It creates more interesting conversation when you don't have to worry about consequences as much. Additionally you can doodle on photos.
Pro Includes news
Snapchat includes a Discover page (accessed by two swipes from the right side) where curated list of news and entertainment outlets can put up news from their sites.
Con Security concerns
In 2013, Snapchat was hacked. As a result phone numbers and usernames of 4.6 million users were published online. That happened after concerns were raised by a security firm weeks before that Snapchat dismissed. Other security concerns were pointed out to Snapchat throughout 2014 including ways th...
Con Non-intuitive UI
The UI space is well used but you'll likely miss a few messages until you understand of the UI works; it's not like the average mobile apps.
Pro Desktop apps allow texting, calling and enable transfering calls
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.
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.
Con Has multiple a security vulnerabilities
EFF gave Viber's security 1 out of 7 points in November, 2014. It deducted points because the provider is capable of reading encrypted messages, there's no way to verify contacts identities, past communications are not secure if encryption keys are stolen, the code is not open to independe...
Pro Protected by Swiss privacy laws
Same privacy laws that keep banks private.
Pro Video calls
One-to-one Skype-to-Skype video calls can be made over Wi-Fi or cellular networks. You can also join ongoing group video calls with audio only, but cannot initiate group video from your iOS device.
Pro Combines cellular and data messaging
You can buy Skype Credit or sign up for a subscription to make calls and send SMS at a reduced price.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
Pro Concurrent sessions
Concurrent sessions allow you to be logged in on your desktop while also being logged in on your phone.
Pro Easy to switch between conversations with tabs
Tabbed chats make it easy to switch between conversations
Know any negative aspects of this option?
Pro No access to contacts required
Access to contacts is an optional feature
Con Not free
Unlike many other options Threema is not free.
Con Privacy control is lacking
If you read the terms and conditions carefully, they mention that they collect as much information as they can and sell it to advertisers.
Pro Friends can be added by scanning a QR code
WeChat generates a QR code for each user that other can be scanned to add them as a friend.
Pro Easy to send voice messages
Users can record a voice message from within the app to then send it to a recipient, who can then play the message from within the app. It is all self contained.
Con Notifications get muted after inactivity
New message notifications stop getting pushed if the application isn't opened for some extended period of time (seems to be around a week or so)
Con Conversations and chat groups aren't ported to new devices
Messages are stored on each device, so shifting to a new device means losing all the previous conversations, as well as an inability to post in previous chat groups until someone else posts there and you're alerted of a new message.
Pro View downloaded Office and iWork documents right within the app
With support for CloudApp and Droplr, you can send Photos and view PDFs, Office and iWork documents right within Verbs.
Pro Minimalist approach and a beautiful interface
Verbs distinguishes itself from the competition with a minimalist approach to IM and a beautiful interface.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
Pro Enormous, constantly updated stamp collection
Since many brands use stamps for promotional purposes, everything from movies to food brands to Taylor Swift have released stamp collections.
Pro Photo filter and editing capabilities
Users have in-app editing tools, as well as Line's separate camera application, which has additional tools.
Con Users have been concentrated in Japan
Of the 360+ million registered users, the top country is Japan (50 million). Thailand and Indonesia are 2nd and 3rd with 33 and 30 million, respectively, with very small market penetration in the US (10 million, 11th place).
Con Account is locked to the Phone Number & Device
The entire account is locked to the phone number, which cannot be changed. If the application is installed on a new device with the same phone number, the previous account data will be wiped.
Pro Advanced chat history
Access your messaging history in the app or on the web
Know any negative aspects of this option?
Pro Users can see when another person is typing
Users can even see when another person is typing, as you would with iMessage or chat.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
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.
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.
Know any negative aspects of this option?
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