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Best Messenger Apps [2023] – A Complete Guide…
What’s the best messenger app for iPhone and Android right now? Here’s a quick overview of the current most popular messaging and IM apps right now…
Key Takeaways
There are a variety of messenger apps available for both iPhone and Android devices, and each offers its own set of features and benefits. Here’s an overview of everything covered in this post:
- WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Signal are great options if you want privacy and security.
- Skype is a popular option for voice and video calls.
- Discord is perfect for gamers who want a secure chat app with plenty of features, and Snapchat is great for creative messaging.
- Slack is ideal for team collaboration and is used by companies large and small all over the globe to manage their employees and teams.
- Viber Messenger offers end-to-end encryption for secure messaging. Worldwide usage of Viber is estimated to be over 800 million. It is particularly popular in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
- The most popular messaging app, by a significant margin, however, is WhatsApp – it is used over 2 billion people around the world. Each day some 64 billion messages are sent via WhatsApp.
There are a ton of messenger apps out there, but which one is the best?
As with most things, it depends – it depends on what you want from your IM app with respect to features and functionality. Are you looking for a straight-up messaging app or do you want something with more features like Slack or Skype?
Another important thing you NEED to consider is whether or not your friends and family use the app as well. There’s no point switching to something like Viber, for instance, if all you friends and family use WhatsApp.
Best Messenger Apps Right Now
In this post, we’ll cover off the most messenger apps right now, go over their unique benefits, and explore how popular they are globally. By the end, you’ll have a full overview of all the current best messenger apps for iPhone and Android.
What is it? WhatsApp is a cross-platform instant messaging service. Available for iPhone and Android and, historically, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and Nokia phones, WhatsApp allows users to send text messages, make calls, do video chats, send images and videos, and create audio messages.
Benefits: WhatsApp is one of the most popular messenger apps with over 1.5 billion monthly active users. The app offers a variety of features that make communication easy and fun. One of the best features of WhatsApp is that you can create group chats with up to 256 people. This is perfect for staying in touch with family and friends. WhatsApp also offers end-to-end encryption, which ensures that your conversations are private and secure.
Where To Get It: Apple App Store + Google Play
Facebook Messenger
What is it? Facebook Messenger is a standalone mobile app and messaging platform within Facebook. It allows you to send text, voice, photo and video messages to friends on the social network, as well as make calls over Wi-Fi or cellular data.
Benefits: Facebook Messenger has over 1 billion monthly active users and offers a number of features that make it a great messaging platform. It has group chat for up to 250 people, you can make free video calls, and it also supports voice notes, GIFs, stickers and more. Facebook Messenger even allows you to play games with friends or order food directly from the app!
Where To Get It: Apple App Store + Google Play
Telegram
What is it? Telegram is an instant messaging app that allows you to send messages, documents, photos, videos and more. It’s available on iPhone and Android devices as well as desktop computers.
Benefits: Telegram is great for staying in touch with family and friends thanks to its unlimited group chats feature. You can also set up bots that automate certain tasks, such as weather forecasts or reminders. Telegram also offers end-to-end encryption for secure messaging and is free to use with no ads.
Where To Get It: Apple App Store + Google Play
Signal
What is it? Signal is a private messenger that uses end-to-end encryption to keep your conversations secure. You can send text messages, photos, videos and audio messages as well as make video calls with Signal.
Benefits: Signal is built for privacy and security. All conversations in the app are encrypted so that no third party can access your data. In addition, the app allows you to set up disappearing messages which automatically delete after a certain amount of time. Signal is also free to use with no ads and works on both iPhone and Android devices.
Where To Get It: Apple App Store + Google Play
Skype
What is it? Skype is a video chat and messaging app that allows you to make voice and video calls, send instant messages, share files, and more.
Benefits: Skype has been around for a long time and is still one of the most popular messenger apps. It offers great features like group chats with up to 50 people, screen sharing, and the ability to make calls to landlines or mobile phones. It’s also free to use with no ads.
Where To Get It: Apple App Store + Google Play
Discord
What is it? Discord is a voice and text chat app designed for gamers. It allows you to communicate with other players in real-time, share files, and create custom servers.
Benefits: Discord is great for gamers as it offers features like voice channels, DMs, bots and more. The app also offers server customization and security, so you can make sure your conversations are private. Discord also offers low latency voice chat and is free to use with no ads.
Where To Get It: Apple App Store + Google Play
Snapchat
What is it? Snapchat is a multimedia messaging app that allows you to send photos, videos and text messages. It also offers features like disappearing messages, lenses and live stories.
Benefits: Snapchat is perfect for staying in touch with friends as it provides fun features like creative filters, augmented reality lenses, and the ability to create custom stories. It also offers end-to-end encryption for secure messaging and is free to use with no ads.
Where To Get It: Apple App Store + Google Play
Slack
What is it? Slack is a communication app for teams. You can use it to organize conversations, share files and collaborate on projects with other people in your organization. Slack is used by some of the biggest companies in the world and has TONS of integrations with things like Google Drive and other productivity applications.
Benefits: Slack offers features like searchable message history, group video calls, and the ability to integrate with other apps. It also has strong security measures in place to keep your conversations private. Slack is free to use with no ads and works on iPhone and Android devices., as well as Macs and Windows computers.
Where To Get It: Apple App Store + Google Play
Viber Messenger
What is it? Viber Messenger is a messaging app that allows you to make audio and video calls, send texts, share photos and videos, and more. It also offers end-to-end encryption for secure messaging. Popular in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, Viber has an estimated 800 million users.
Benefits: Viber offers features like group chats with up to 200 people and the ability to call landlines and cell phones. It also has various games, stickers, animated GIFs and more. Viber is free to use with no ads and works on both iPhone and Android devices.
Where To Get It: Apple App Store + Google Play