There are apps for just about anything you can think of, but one of the apps that most of us have installed on our phones is WhatsApp. Despite the fact that there are many alternatives available, the popularity of Meta’s messaging platform in much of the world (and especially in Spain) is undeniable.
Although I started using WhatsApp as my main messaging app more than a decade ago, today I’ve been putting aside the Meta messaging app in favor of alternatives like Telegram and Signal. In this article I tell you why.
Little by little I have stopped using WhatsApp, Meta’s messaging app.
Something I consider important to be clear about when talking about messaging applications is that WhatsApp is a totally safe alternative:Conversations we have using the platform are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be read by anyone else. The reasons I have been moving away from the Meta platform have nothing to do with that.
By now we’ve all heard about the Privacy Issues Related to Metaowner of Instagram and Facebook: It is no secret that Meta’s apps and services collect a huge amount of user data, something I am not comfortable with. This is the main reason why I stopped using WhatsApp.
Another reason that led me to start using Telegram more was the app possibilitiesIf you’re a user of the app, you’ll be familiar with Telegram bots: we can find bots for practically anything we can think of, from file conversion bots to reminder bots, among others.
In addition to the above, Telegram has always had more privacy-related options. For example, with Telegram it was possible to fine-tune who could see our profile picture and last connection time using exceptions when WhatsApp did not yet have this feature.
The Meta app has been updated with many new features, although Telegram still has things that WhatsApp lacksOne of them is usernames, which allow us to stay in touch with other users without having to give out our phone number. Luckily, usernames are coming to WhatsApp soon.
Spam is another of WhatsApp’s problems: You’ve probably received a message from someone you don’t know on more than one occasion, offering you a job or something similar. WhatsApp scams are quite common, and we’ve already talked about some of the most common examples, such as the case of Rosa Caro Serrano’s message.
The fact that I have gradually stopped using WhatsApp has been a gradual process, not a firm decision: I simply started using other alternatives and I realized that I was using WhatsApp less and less. I’ve recently started using Signal as well.an excellent option if you are concerned about your privacy (it does not collect any data). I hardly use WhatsApp these days, although I still have the app installed for those times when I can’t use Telegram or Signal.
Obviously, everyone’s particular situation is different and the messaging application you choose It will largely depend on the app your friends and family use.The case of Signal is more extreme (there are not many people using the app today), but today it is very common to find people using Telegram.
Cover image | Microsoft Designer Image Creator