The Only 4 Messaging Apps Worth Your Time

It does n’t take a soothsayer to see that messaging is going to be a big part of our future , so there ’s been a deluge of scrappy startup – plus the giants like Facebook and Google – dropping new messaging apps and desire to be one of the few apps that we use every exclusive day . But there are only a small fistful that stand out from the pack and bid genuinely unique and indispensable feature article for our daily communication . Here are the four worth downloading , base on what you ’re hoping to get out of them .

Why it ’s not bad : It ’s soothingly simplistic and does n’t call for you to be tethered to a particular gadget.iOS : FreeAndroid : FreeWindows : FreeTelegram offers a suite of intimate messaging feature of speech ( it supports send Brobdingnagian exposure , videos , and other files ) , but stands out from the others on this list for its noticeably barren and simple user interface . Also , unlike WhatsApp , it ’s cloud - based , so your content will seamlessly sync to multiple devices at once . And while it does n’t offer voice or video calls , it does let you create radical chats with up to 5,000 member , and engage in " secret " chats that can only be accessed on the gimmick they were sent from ( they ’re not part of the Telegram cloud ) and can be set to self - destruct .

Facebook Messenger

Why it ’s great : It ’s packed with artifically intelligent bots that can serve you manage all aspects of your day.iOS : FreeAndroid : FreePeople freak out out a little bit when Facebook spin off its chat feature into a standalone app , but it turned out to be a really helpful tool . Like most of the apps on this list , it ’s corking for group confabulation and articulation calls , but it ’s uniquely powerful thanks to the " bot " that allow you to interact with third - political party sites and service without allow for the app . essentially , everyone from Uber to 1 - 800 - Flowers has their own Messenger bot , and once you add them to your contact list you may knock them with inquiry or asking ( for instance , " ordinate a railroad car in 15 minutes , " " send a fragrance of rose to Sarah tomorrow " ) whenever you want . It ’s like having a modest army of personal helper at the quick to make your life just a little bit easier .

Why it ’s great : It ’s popular with the international crew and has the good safe content encoding around.iOS : FreeAndroid : FreeWindows : FreeWhat began as that app everyone in your survey - abroad program used to text multitude back home has morphed into quite the behemoth messaging portal . Not only is it now altogether free to practice , but it ’s muddle - packed with extra feature of speech ( the ability to partake in movie , videos , and send audio single file and papers , for example ) , though it most proudly touts its end - to - end message encoding – keep potential interloper and the government from snooping around your conversation . Two year ago , it was acquired by Facebook ( who ’s recentlycome under scrutinyfor make controversial variety to its seclusion policy ) , so it may also start up adding Messenger - esque features down the road .

Allo

Why it ’s big : It ’s equipped with an artificially healthy Google Assistant that ’ll chime in whenever you have a question.iOS : FreeAndroid : FreeGoogle has plenty of experience with New World chat platforms , from GChat , to Google Messenger , to Hangouts , but it ’s best offering yet is the just - launched Allo app . Although it offers most of the requisite messaging app features ( it supports sending pic and videos , and has quite a fewiOS 10 - esque effectoptions ) , you may not use it to make voice or video call . It does have something none of the other apps do , though : Google Assistant , an AI bot that will pop in to do questions you might have as you ’re chitchat ( what ’s the weather ? Where ’s the expert sushi spot nearby ? When does the game begin ? ) .

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man texting on smartphone