Whatsapp is currently down due to a worldwide malfunction. If you still want to communicate now, you can switch to one of the numerous alternatives. Whether Signal, Telegram or Threema, we present the various messengers.
It hardly works without Messenger, but it currently doesn’t work with WhatsApp either. Like other services from the Zuckerberg Group , Facebook’s Messenger has been no longer usable or can only be used to a very limited extent since Monday afternoon. Whatsapp is also repeatedly criticized – most recently with the change in its terms and conditions, according to which a lot of data should be shared with the parent company Facebook. However, this regulation does not apply to the European Union , but Whatsapp is not particularly economical with the user data . After all, there are numerous WhatsApp alternatives that rely on both a large range of functions and secure end-to-end encryption.
Whatsapp is undisputedly the most popular messenger on the market – across all platforms. In the app stores of the major mobile operating systems Android and iOS (and also the feature phone operating system KaiOS), the application is at the forefront. According to their own statements – as of February 2020 – two billion people use Facebook’s Messenger service.
Whatsapp: Widely used, but only moderately popular – in a sense a necessary evil. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Above all, the ease of use and the simple registration process seem to be the success of the To have significantly favored the service. In order to use Whatsapp, the messenger only has to be downloaded from the app store – registration is via your own telephone number. After confirmation by the user, the service automatically compares the stored phone numbers with its own database. Then it is possible to exchange ideas with your contacts via WhatsApp and to send documents of any kind as well as voice messages and video chats with groups to be managed by up to eight people . Without comparing your own contacts with the Whatsapp database, the service only works to a massive extent. Whatsapp is not considered GDPR-compliant because of the contacts synchronization.
Despite its widespread use, the messaging tool is controversial: Although Whatsapp introduced end-to-end encryption in 2016, making it one of the most secure messengers on the market. Nevertheless, the company collects a lot of user data such as your phone numbers, metadata and more – and shares it with the parent company Facebook . However, since 2016 Facebook has not been allowed to use the data of European users for its own purposes – this will not change despite the new terms and conditions . A look at Apple’s new data protection information in the App Store shows how extensive Whatsapp’s data collection is. Other messengers are much more economical in this regard.
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Whatsapp collects a lot of information about its users. (Screenshot: t3n)
If you want to look for an alternative for your environment, you will find in our overview may find what you are looking for. The messengers listed by us offer a similar range of functions, are offered for a wide range of platforms and are considered secure thanks to end-to-end encryption.
Threema is considered a secure Whatsapp alternative. (Image: Threema (edited))
The topics of security and data protection are discussed in many messaging Unfortunately, apps are still written in lower case, even if some have already added up on this. Threema was one of the first messengers where security was a top priority. The Swiss company behind the product ensures that all communication, also telephone calls and video calls, between the participants from start to finish, is encrypted. This means that neither the operator nor unauthorized third parties should be able to read. The application, with which text messages, photos, videos and your own location can be sent, is available for both iOS and Android and with Threema Web also for the desktop.
Whatsapp alternative Threema also for the web. (Image: Threema)
Threema emphasizes that the service is as different as possible use metadata sparingly – as in the Nutrition Label of Apple’s App Store is shown – furthermore, your telephone number is not required for registration, but can be optionally stored. When setting up the app, a random Threema ID is generated instead. In this way, Threema could also be used completely anonymously, without any personal data. Threema is also GDPR-compliant.
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In contrast to Whatsapp, Threema is not free, but at an amount of four euros it is still affordable. The company offers a separate Threema Work Messenger . In December 2020, the company released the source code of its apps disclosed what the developers describe as the last “puzzle piece for complete transparency” from Threema.
Signal promises secure communication. (Photo: Open Whisper Systems)
The Signal app from Open Whisper Systems is available for Android and iOS ready for use and is the messenger of choice by whistleblower Edward Snowden . The messenger has an end-to-end encryption, which is developed open-source. With the messenger you can send text messages and make tap-proof phone calls and video chats. Also for the desktop and iPads a client is offered. As with Whatsapp you can 
Sticker
, send animated gifs and doodle – and add text messages to images. Signal has been offering reactions à la Facebook since February 2020. The encryption of Whatsapp is also based on the technology of Open Whisper Systems , the company behind Signal.
Signal Messenger (Beta) supports reactions since 2020. (Screenshot: Signal; t3n)
The range of functions of Signal is growing steadily and you can be sure that no third party can read along. In addition, bi gives Signal a message option with an expiration date. A local, encrypted backup solution is also on board. This is different from one Backup solution in the cloud, as it is optionally available from Whatsapp , safer. Because by backing up the chat history and other content in the cloud, the end-to-end encryption is interrupted. The registration takes place as with Whatsapp by telephone number, you do not have to enter your real name, a pseudonym is sufficient.
Interesting fact: Whatsapp co-founder Brian Acton, who turned his back on the company in 2017 after the takeover by Facebook, invested 50 million UD Sollar in the development of Signal in 2018 in order to make the messenger more suitable for the masses. Since the announcement of the general terms and conditions changes from Whatsapp, the messenger has received a large number of new customers. In January, around 7.5 million new users were added to the 20 million active users at the end of 2020, is it [called.
Wire: Pretty multi-messenger with servers in Europe
Wire-Messenger. (Image: Wire)
Another player on the messenger market is Wire Swiss , which wants to compete against the top dog Whatsapp with its wire messenger. The messenger is based on the WebRTC protocol and has a modern look. In addition to written messages and GIF, the application also supports the sending of voice messages in HD quality, all of which are end-to-end encrypted. Group chats with up to 500 participants are also possible. Every user can up to eight devices , whereby messages are individually encrypted for each device, according to Wire. Wire Swiss, which has relocated its headquarters in Berlin and the holding company to Switzerland for a few months, emphasizes that all servers are located in the EU.
The messenger can be used with iOS, Android, Windows and macOS devices can be used – or with a current browser (Chrome, Firefox, Opera). The company is financially supported by Skype co-founder Janus Friis. Pleasing: In July 2016 the company released the complete source code of the app published on GitHub , the server source code has also been available for inspection on GitHub since April 2017.
A telephone number is not required for registration. Messenger can take over contacts from your address book – the phone numbers are encrypted. However, the synchronization is voluntary – the messenger can also be used without access to your address book. For companies, the company offers separate messenger solutions that According to their own statements, they are also GDPR-compliant .
Ginlo – the Whatsapp alternative from Germany? (Screenshots: Ginlo)
Ginlo is a potential Whatsapp alternative from Germany. The Messenger emerged from the Simsme app from Deutsche Post and was operated by Brabbler AG until its bankruptcy in 2019. Brabbler co-founder Karsten Schramm transferred the product to his own company in summer 2020 and is continuing the development of the service. He did not want to “sit and watch as the only German messenger platform that is not only fully encrypted and GDPR-compliant, but also allows unique interaction between private and business target groups, is given up,” Schramm explained in July 2020.
According to the company, Ginlo is hosted in Germany, all chats are end-to-end encrypted and are only stored encrypted on the devices of the chat participants. In addition to apps for iOS and Android, the company offers clients for Windows, macOS and Linux with which audio-video conferences can be carried out. The apps also support the usual functions such as sharing videos, photos, voice messages, locations, files in many formats and sending self-destructive or time-shifted messages . In addition, Ginlo offers the option of subscribing to content channels in various media .
Of the Ginlo Messenger for private customers is free and is cross-financed by the paid business solution, according to the company. According to Ginlo, both messengers are GDPR-compliant and should be published under an open source license in the long term. A mobile phone number is required to register. Access to the contacts stored on the smartphone is possible, but not absolutely necessary.
The Whatsapp alternative Wickr is used by Fsociety in the hacker series Mr. Robot. (Image: Wickr)
Wickr is another free messenger with end-to-end encryption that is offered for various platforms. According to the developer, there are apps for Android, iOS as well as Windows, OS X and Linux. The messenger enables the exchange of encrypted text, voice and video messages and offers the option of adding an expiration date to them à la Snapchat. Interesting: Before sending, Wickr removes the metadata from sent images and videos – metadata includes, among other things, the place and time of the recording.
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The messenger received a plus in attention through its use in the hacker series Mr. Robot – however, a reader had already drawn our attention to the app in the comments in 2014.
Die Whatsapp-Alternative Telegram erfreut sich wachsender Beliebtheit. (Bild: Telegram)
Der Mitte 2013 gestartete Messaging-Dienst Telegram schreibt sich auf die Fahne, hochgradig verschlüsselt zu sein, was insbesondere in der Post-Prism-Ära ein populäres Feature darstellt. Laut den Entwicklern Pavel und Nikolai Durov können sowohl Textnachrichten als auch Fotos, Videos und Dokumente (wie Doc-, Zip-, MP3-Dateien und mehr) versendet werden, die bis zu 1,5 Gigabyte groß sind. Auch das Erstellen von Gruppenchats wird unterstützt – bis zu 200.000 Kontakte können einer Gruppe hinzugefügt werden. Wie etwa bei Whatsapp könnt ihr euren eigenen Standort in Echtzeit mit Freunden teilen.
Telegram-Gruppen unterstützen bis zu 200.000 Mitglieder. (Bild: Telegram)
Im Unterschied zu Whatsapp, Threema oder Signal werden Daten in der Cloud gespeichert, sodass Konversationen über mehrere Geräte hinweg synchronisiert werden können. Damit geht einher, dass die Kommunikation standardmäßig nicht Ende-zu-Ende-verschlüsselt ist. Nur im „Secret Chat“ besteht eine Ende-zu-Ende-Verschlüsselung mit Snapchat-artiger Selbstzerstörungsfunktion: Mit dieser lassen sich Nachrichten mit einem Verfallsdatum versehen, sodass sie sich nach vorgegebener Zeit selbst zerstören. Weiter können Nachrichten zurückgezogen werden.
Zur Anmeldung ist die Verknüpfung mit eurer Telefonnummer und die Angabe eines Vornamens vonnöten. Die Funktion des Cloud-Chats mag zur geräteübergreifenden Nutzung praktisch sein. Weiter müssen wie bei Whatsapp Telefonnummern eurer Kontakte inklusive Vor- und Nachnamen aus dem Adressbuch synchronisiert werden. Gewährt ihr der App keinen Zugriff auf eure Kontakte, könnt ihr keinen Chat starten. Immerhin: Die Synchronisation kann deaktiviert werden, Kontakte lassen sich löschen. Ob sie dann auch auf der Serverseite komplett entfernt werden, ist unklar.
Offizielle Clients stehen für iOS, Android und auch für Desktoprechner zum Download zur Verfügung. Neben offiziellen Clients stehen zudem inoffizielle Anwendungen zur Verfügung – das ist möglich, da die Entwickler Teile des Codes Open Source anbieten und API bereitstellen.
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2021 gab das Unternehmen an, mittlerweile 500 Millionen aktive Nutzer pro Monat zu haben. Die Nutzerbasis ist damit zwar bei Weitem nicht so groß wie die von Whatsapp, aber dennoch beachtlich. Der Dienst steht jedoch nicht ganz ohne Kritik dar: Zum einen wird die Verschlüsselung kritisiert, da sie im Unterschied zum quelloffenen Signal-Protokoll von Open Whisper Systems oder Threema proprietär ist und nicht offengelegt wird, zum anderen weiß niemand, wo das Unternehmen hinter Telegram überhaupt sein Büro hat. Das Unternehmen besitzt damit einen gewissen unseriösen Anstrich.
Darüber hinaus gilt der Messenger als ein Datenschutzalbtraum, wie Heises Sicherheitsexperte Jürgen Schmidt demonstrierte: Jegliche Daten, die in den Chat geschrieben werden, landen bereits vor dem Abschicken auf den Telegram-Servern. Dort befinden sich seiner Recherche zufolge auch die kompletten Chatverläufe all eurer Konversationen. Als sonderlich vertrauenswürdig kann Telegram daher nicht kategorisiert werden.
Passend dazu: Radikalisierung auf Telegram: Nazis, Waffen, Drogen und Attila Hildmann
Fazit – Whatsapp-Alternativen gibt es viele …
Wie an dieser noch lange nicht vollständigen Übersicht an Multi-Messengern zu sehen ist, ist die Auswahl an sinnvollen Whatsapp-Alternativen auf dem Markt gar nicht mal so gering. Die Frage, welchen man davon nun verwenden soll, ist nicht leicht zu beantworten. Viele bieten den nahezu gleichen Funktionsumfang wie Whatsapp, manche haben sogar mehr auf dem Kasten. Woran es aber zumeist wegen des Netzwerkeffekts fehlt, sind die Freunde und Kontakte. Denn die meisten wollen das vertraute Whatsapp-Universum nicht verlassen. Und diese dazu zu bringen, sich einen weiteren Messenger zu installieren und ihn auch noch zu verwenden, dürfte oft schwer fallen. Hier hilft nur, gute Überzeugungsarbeit zu leisten. Wenn ihr einen sicheren Messenger mit Ende-zu-Ende-Verschlüsselung nutzen wollt, solltet ihr Signal oder Threema ausprobieren – und natürlich eure Kontakte einladen, euch zu folgen.
Aber warum sollte man sich auf einen einzigen Kanal begrenzen? Ich persönlich setze auf einen Reigen von Apps, über die ich mit anderen in Verbindung bleibe. Whatsapp verwende ich nur, wenn es sein muss. Stattdessen setze ich auf eine Kombination aus Twitter (ja, vergleichsweise unsicher) und Signal. Das Versenden einer SMS kommt höchstens einmal im Jahr vor.
Welche Whatsapp-Alternativen setzt ihr ein, und welche sollten aus eurer Sicht noch in unsere Übersicht aufgenommen werden?
Überblick über die Whatsapp-Alternativen
Dieser Artikel wird regelmäßig aktualisiert. Letztes Update des Artikels: 04. Oktober 2021.
Weiterführende Artikel:
- Top 10: These are the most used messenger apps worldwide
- Whatsapp Business : Facebook now wants to earn money with its messenger
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