There are many messaging apps to choose from. There are the obvious and inevitable WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, but besides the must-have apps, there is a lot more to discover, geared towards sticker lovers, busy professionals, security-minded people, and even gamers. Check out our roundup of the best messaging apps for 2020.
Best messaging app: WhatsApp
While WhatsApp may not be the first messaging app to offer the latest features, it's easy to use, reliable, and it looks like everyone has it. It uses phone numbers from your address book so you don't have to add contacts manually, which helps a lot when setting up the first time.
WhatsApp has all the standard messenger features you know and love: voice and video calls, messaging, group chats, voice messages, as well as fun features like the ability to send stickers, emoticons, GIFs, as well as your own photos and of course video.
Everything in it, therefore - Facebook Messenger
Facebook ... love it or hate it, its ubiquity makes things easy when it comes to messaging, eliminating the need to exchange numbers with your Facebook friends. For those that you are not connected to on Facebook, you can still reach them through Messenger using their phone number.
Just like WhatsApp, the interface is easy to navigate and you get loads of stickers, emojis and GIFs alongside standard features like calling, photo sharing, and messaging. Plus, Messenger also has polls (which come in handy when bringing a group of friends together to pick a brunch location), game choices, and the ability to connect you directly to a growing number of businesses using chatbots.
Privacy-focused messenger: Threema
Threema is one of the most privacy-focused messaging apps on the market today. Contacts are identified using Threema IDs. They are stored on Threema's servers, so you can back up and transfer your account from device to device. However, there are many additional security measures and features here that make Threema an ideal choice for those who want to control their personal data when exchanging messages with their friends.
The only downside to Threema is that it costs a couple of dollars and you'll have to convince your friends and family to pay too if you want people to be able to talk on the app.
Best for anonymity: Session
Session is without a doubt the best messaging app for those looking to stay anonymous and stay free from the radar of webmasters desperate to collect our data and sell it to advertisers. Session can be used without a phone number, but it still functions as a WhatsApp-style messenger capable of both sending text messages and making calls. It was created by the same team as the Signal messenger, but has several advantages over its counterpart, for example, encrypted group chats.
Session is by far one of the most promising messengers for the privacy paranoid.
Video calling classics: Skype
The original Skype video calling app has been around for many years. As a result, there have been some changes over time. It still supports video calling and instant messaging, but it now has a sleeker, more modern design and works well on mobile devices. In addition, it features funny gifs and moving emoticons.
You need to know their user ID to add contacts, and while calling and messaging from Skype to Skype is still free, there are paid options to call or send SMS messages to traditional phone numbers.
Underrated for SMS, Calls, and Google Voice: Hangouts
Google installed Hangouts as the default (but interchangeable) messaging app in Android 4.4 KitKat, and thanks to that, it has attracted many more users and continues to gain traction over the years.
Hangouts is a combined SMS and instant messaging app that separates the two types of messages, but can be used to automatically make voice and video calls from your phone via Hangouts. This is a key app for those with a free Google Voice phone number, and it's incredibly handy. Since it handles both SMS and IM, it cuts down on the number of apps you need to work with, and its video call quality is arguably better than Skype.
Social networking for sticker lovers: Line
Line is packed with stickers and other fun stuff and is hugely popular in many parts of Asia as a social network and messaging app. You can get multiple sets of stickers for free and then for a small fee from the in-app sticker store.
Line is like Twitter, Facebook and Skype rolled into one. It's also packed with group chat features, multi-platform capabilities (phone, tablet, PC), timeline, recorded voice messages, media sharing and more, including official account messages from celebrities you like.
Best for expanding your communication: WeChat
WeChat works in the same way as other messaging apps, in fact, it works quite well. The big difference is that he is trying to expand your network with potential contacts that are nearby. You just need to shake your phone and you can find someone on WeChat who is also looking for a new friend. Then you can add them or opt out.
You can use Friends Radar to find nearby friends and meet them. When you do this, a small "radar" will appear in the application, which looks for friends nearby. Once you see them on your radar, you can talk to them and invite them to meet.
Best for secure messaging: Signal
With Signal, you can send encrypted messages, including images, videos, and voice memos. Plus, it can make one-to-one voice and video calls. It is functionally very similar to regular instant messengers, but with an emphasis on security and privacy. At the moment, however, it lacks tablet support.
With end-to-end encryption, you can be sure of the security of your messages and calls. In addition, no group chat metadata is sent to Signal servers, so Signal cannot access your group members, your group names, or group icons. It also has a disappearing messages feature that Snapchat users will be familiar with.
Best for the office: Slack
Slack is the best business messaging app for mobile and desktop. While it doesn't completely replace email, it can come close by keeping all of your day-to-day work chatter and announcements in one place.
You can create channels by department, create groups of specific people working together on a project, or make individual messages. Reacting to emoji is also a time saver, as you can quickly raise your thumb up to indicate “great idea”. Plus, it has extensions that work with other collaboration tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, GitHub, Salesforce, and Asana.
Best messenger for gamers: Discord
If you're a gamer, there is one messaging app you can't live without. Discord allows you to chat and make audio and video calls just like any other messaging app, but it's designed for gamers and has a lot of additional features that make it perfect for keeping up with your community.
Private and public messages, instant invite links, member roles for servers, the ability to join guilds and see which games your friends are actively playing, all make this app ideal for gamers. But Discord is also used by Reddit communities, Twitch streamers, YouTubers, and other groups. The bigger, the better!
Do you have any other favorite messengers that aren't here? Let us know in the comments!
