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WhatsApp is forcing all users to agree to its controversial new privacy policy by 8 February, or else you get blocked from the app.
The move has led many users to seek alternatives, with high-profile figures like Elon Musk and Edward Snowden urging users to switch to more privacy-focussed services.
Even WhatsApp’s creators, who sold the app to Facebook in 2014 for $18 billion, have turned their back on the app, with co-founder Brian Acton saying in a 2018 interview: “I sold my users’ privacy for a larger benefit.”
The Facebook-owned app has more than 2 billion users worldwide, so even if millions of people decide to migrate it is unlikely to have a major impact on WhatsApp’s overall popularity.
| S. No. | Best WhatsApp Alternatives | Transfer Protocols | Encryption Used | Best Privacy Features |
| 1. | Signal | HTTPS/SIP Over WebSockets | Signal Protocol (X3DH + Double Ratchet + AES 256) | No User Records, Self-Destructing Messages |
| 2. | Session | TOR Onion Http | Modified Signal Protocol | No Phone Number Required, Decentralized Network |
| 3. | Threema | HTTPS | NaCl + AES 256 (Validation Logging) | No logging of IP Addresses or Metadata |
| 4. | iMessage | HTTPS/GSM | Double AES 128 | E2E Encryption, Make Payments |
| 5. | Elements | HTTPS | Matrix Network | E2E Encryption, Decentralized Storage |
| 6. | Wickr me | HTTPS | Wickr Secure Messaging Protocol | No IP Address Logs, Anonymity |
| 7. | Viber | HTTP/HTTPS – RTP (SRTP) | Double Ratchet | Invisible status, Secret Chats, Lock Messages With PIN |
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