A person by nature needs constant communication with other people, so every day all over the world, there is an increasing number of communication applications, and usually, these are not the most popular instant messengers in your particular country. But, judging by the messages on social networks and the forums, in 2020, it became entirely indecent to call without warning. Now even friends and colleagues first type a message before making a call. A call from an unknown number very often can be considered spam. To increase sales, companies are forced to somehow break through this wall.
The Age of Digital Communications
The modern business world has changed. Communication in cyberspace or the digital world is becoming more and more significant with each passing day. Talking to customers by phone and e-mail is already of few efficiencies, as the central communication flowed smoothly to messengers. At present, when creating an app like WhatsApp, for example, here the business gets an even more convenient and interactive communication channel with their customers and additional digital marketing tool. In this article, we will review some widely-used messengers.
Top Six Messaging Apps In 2021
1. Telegram
It’s hard to believe that there are people who are still not aware of this app’s existence. Otherwise, why would you use something else? Still, if you are one of them, urgently download this app. It provides end-to-end encryption so that no one can eavesdrop or snoop on your talks.
Telegram is one of the top three most protected chatting apps in the world. It was officially blocked in Russia from April 2018 till June 2020. So, for now, the app works there officially. It provides diverse and interactive communication. The app is known for its channels and thematic groups. There were no video calls until recently –– they quickly added this option in the pandemic context. Due to its reliable data security, many independent and banned media use it as the central broadcasting platform. The app allows sharing multimedia files, record voice messages, videos and stay on top of the latest news from different channels. It has a user-friendly, intuitive interface that will enable you to connect multiple devices simultaneously and creates chats for up to 200,000 participants.
2. Signal
The messaging app is a non-commercial project. It is a secure messenger with end-to-end encryption of all chats, calls, and video calls. If we talk about security, most tech bloggers recommend Signal for the most sensitive secret messages. Its popularity skyrocketed after Elon Musk’s tweet “Use Signal.” Due to the absence of the peer-to-peer or federated option, Signal users recently experienced some technical issues. There are no video messages available here.
In terms of functionality and appearance, Signal is not much different from WhatsApp or Telegram, and if you are not ready to use it for daily communication, installing Signal for conducting confidential correspondence will not be superfluous. Voice and video calls are provided here so that you won’t miss WhatsApp app.
3. WeChat
Closes the top three WeChat leaders. This app is almost unknown to users from the European part of Russia but has long become the primary application for China and other Asian countries. WeChat is not only a chatting app for exchanging messages, videos, and stickers. It is a complete and official payment system for utilities, taxis, food, goods, and services.
WeChat has grown slightly over the past year, and these numbers have reached almost 40 million users. These are enormous values for other messengers below, but against the scope of 1.2 billion, the next 40 million people are a drop in the ocean. We can still predict the growth of WeChat because there is still a lot of unreached audiences in Asia. But there is another popular application, which we will talk about below.
4. Threema
This is an open-source private messaging application provided for €3.99. It was developed in Switzerland and comes with end-to-end encryption for all types of messages, voice calls, and group chats.
With built-in end-to-end encryption, Threema ensures absolute privacy for all types of messages. Moreover, it is not required to use the phone number, as users can chat with each other using their 8-digit Threema ID, further protecting their data. One can also check contacts using unique QR codes. No contact lists or group chat data is stored on the user’s device. The app even encrypts the user’s status so no one can track what users post. Targeted recipients can only read messages.
The app is enriched with editing functions, and one can specify the location and send files. Unlike WhatsApp, users can create polls and like individual messages. They can even hide specific chats and password protect access to them. Messages are deleted immediately after reading.
5. WhatsApp
The most popular messenger in the world is WhatsApp. The number of its monthly users is larger than China’s population, and until recently, this figure has been growing. But the application was accused of spying and transferring user data to its owners from Facebook. Although representatives of the messenger deny everything, millions of people are switching to Telegram and other competitors. So far, this is a drop in the ocean, but soon everything may change.
WhatsApp has become popular due to the flexibility of communication and creating groups for business, blogs, and media. In Asian countries, the messenger is used as a full-fledged social network and news source, and many people earn big money from it.
6. Wire
European user data storage laws protect the Wire app, so it’s a secure messenger that uses end-to-end encryption. There are free individual accounts and paid business plans with additional features and support. Wire takes pride in providing seamless video and audio communication for users.
Wire supports 1:1 screen sharing and group chats. It also supports multimedia distribution and audio file filtering. You can log into your account from eight synced devices, and the app is compatible with all major platforms.
You can make text bold and italicized and create chat lists. Likewise, you can also optimize file sizes to make sharing easier and set timers to delete messages for added protection.