Alternatives to WhatsApp

Works on MicroG?

Yes, but Google Drive backup doesn't always work for everyone.

You can hardly replace WhatsApp completely, there will always be someone you need to contact who only uses this app. But remember, there are always text messages and calls, if someone has an interest in contacting you they do so in some way.

There are only Open Source alternatives, for obvious privacy and security reasons

Telegram is a messaging app created by former VK creators with a focus on speed and security. It’s superfast, simple and free. It is like SMS, but more powerful.

You can send messages, photos and videos to people who are in your phone contacts (and have Telegram). You can also create groups for up to 20000 people or channels for unlimited subscribers.

Your chats are not encrypted by default, which enables other people to see what you are writing. You can enable a "Secret Chat" to enable end-to-end encryption.

Telegram's security model has received notable criticism by cryptography experts. They criticized the general security model of permanently storing all contacts, messages and media together with their decryption keys on its servers by default and by not enabling end-to-end encryption for messages by default.

Telegram's client-side code is open-source software, whereas its server-side code is closed-source and proprietary. The service also provides public APIs with which developers can access the same functionality as Telegram's official apps to build their own messaging applications.

Telegram also provides a bot API for programmers to create different kinds of Telegram bots. Bots are simply Telegram accounts operated by software – not people – and they'll often have AI features. They can do anything – teach, play, search, broadcast, remind, connect, integrate with other services, or even pass commands to the Internet of Things.

Telegram Official : Use GMS for notifications and location.

Telegram X : If it detects a lack of GMS in your phone, it uses a proprietary notification system. It is closed source client.

Telegram FOSS : Totally open source, doesn't use GMS, works great even without MicroG on AOSP. Uses OpenStreetMap instead of Google Maps for localization. It is always less updated than the official version.

Nekogram X : It's a FOSS Telegram fork. Slightly more optimized and with more options

Signal

Using Signal, you can communicate instantly while avoiding SMS fees, create groups so that you can chat in real time with all your friends at once, and share media or attachments all with complete privacy. The server never has access to any of your communication and never stores any of your data. Send high-quality group, text, picture, and video messages, all without SMS and MMS fees. Make crystal-clear phone calls to people who live across town, or across the ocean, with no long-distance charges. Everything in Signal is always end-to-end encrypted and painstakingly engineered in order to keep your communication safe.

It use GMS for notifications.

Riot.im

Riot is an opensource interoperable app running on Web, iOS and Android. It is built around chat rooms, both public and private and provides messaging, filesharing, voice and video conferencing (beta on Android and web), integrations to tools like GitHub, Jira, Jenkins and much more soon. Riot is built on the

Matrix.org open standard which provides bridges to other systems such as Slack, IRC and a lot more soon. One can use the hosted service or run their own.

Jami

Open Source and cross-platform. Jami gives you a full control over your communications and an unmatched level of privacy.

Communicate in multiple ways:

• A telephone: a simple tool to connect, communicate and share.

• A teleconferencing tool: easily join calls to create conferences with multiple participants.

• A media sharing tool: Jami supports a variety of video input options, including mutliple cameras and image and video files, and the selection of audio inputs and outputs; all this is supported by multiple high quality audio and video codecs.

• A messenger: send text messeges during calls or out of calls (as long as your peer is connected).

• A building block for your IoT project: re-use the universal communications technology of Jami with its portable library on your system of choice.

Jami use end-to-end encryption with perfect forward secrecy for all communications and comply with the X.509 standard.

Briar

Briar is a messaging app designed for activists, journalists, and anyone else who needs a safe, easy and robust way to communicate. Unlike traditional messaging tools such as email, Twitter or Telegram, Briar doesn't rely on a central server - messages are synchronized directly between the users' devices. If the Internet's down, Briar can sync via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, keeping the information flowing in a crisis. If the Internet's up, Briar can sync via the Tor network, protecting users and their relationships from surveillance.

Delta Chat

Delta Chat looks and feels like other popular messenger apps, but does not involve centralized control, tracking or selling you, friends, colleagues or family out to large organizations.

Delta Chat requires no additional server-side infrastructure. Just use a standard e-mail account and start chatting with any of your e-mail contacts, whether they have installed Delta Chat or not.

Technically, Delta Chat is an e-mail application with a modern chat interface. E-Mail in a new dress if you will. Chat and contact data remain on your devices. No uploads of Addressbook, calendar or other personal data. There simply are no Delta Chat servers where anything could be uploaded to.

Use Delta Chat with anyone out of billions of people: just use their e-mail address. Recipients will see a simple e-mail and may directly reply with their own e-mail app. They don't need to install Delta Chat, visit websites or sign up anywhere. If you send a picture or other media to a Chat group your chat recipients will see a nice regular e-mail with an attachment. If they send a message and attachments back, you will see the media in your Chat for this contact.

Delta Chat sends e-mails using your e-mail account and provider of choice. You can change mobile numbers without any trouble or even work without any SIM card at all. You can export all your Chat data on one device, import it on a new device and happily continue chatting. Not requiring mobile numbers avoids cell-tower and other tracking.

Session

Session is an end-to-end encrypted messenger that removes sensitive metadata collection, and is designed for people who want privacy and freedom from any forms of surveillance. Built on a unique network of user-operated servers spread all over the world. With no central servers, Session can’t leak or sell your data. And with Session’s private routing protocols, your messages are completely anonymous. No one ever knows who you’re talking to, what you’re saying, or even your IP address.

Conversations

Conversations is a Jabber/XMPP client for Android. Easy to use as possible without sacrificing security or privacy. Do not require a Google Account or specifically Google Cloud Messaging. End-to-end encryption with either OMEMO or OpenPGP. Make audio and video calls. Syncs with desktop client.