WhatsApp vs Signal vs Telegram: Best Free WhatsApp Alternative in 2024

The facebook owned WhatsApp came out with a recent policy change through which it will be transferring user data to Facebook and its subsidiary companies.

This incidence was enough to fire up data privacy concerns around the globe, given Facebook’s dubious dealings when it comes to managing user data.

Even before this, WhatsApp got itself embroiled in another controversy when it was found that its end-to-end encryption was not that safe.

So it’s obvious people are searching for WhatsApp alternative apps and comparing WhatsApp Vs Signal and WhatsApp Vs Telegram.

WhatsApp Vs Signal: Which is Better in Terms of Data Privacy?

Signal has emerged as one of the top contenders as WhatsApp Alternative Indian app as it makes huge claims about protecting user data data at any cost. Let’s analyse.

Feature	WhatsApp	Signal
Finance model	Acquired by Facebook in 2014	Non-profit organizations, runs on donations
Communication	Allows broadcasting of the same message to all contacts using the app	Current version does not support broadcasting of message
Notes	You have to create a group with only you as the member to note down important tasks	It has a note to self feature for jotting down tasks on top of your head
Security	WhatsApp uses E2E protocol for securing your chats It does not encrypt metadata	Signal too E2E protocol and also secures metadata with the help of Sealed sender feature.
Data collected by the app	Whatsapp makes use of device ID, location, phone number, email address etc.	Signal only collects your phone number for functioning properly
No. of downloads	The app has been downloaded more than 5 billion times	The app has been downloaded more than 10 million times

WhatsApp Vs Telegram: Which is a Better Messaging App in India?

Telegram is another contender which presents a strong case to be considered as a suitable WhatsApp alternative. We do an in depth analysis of the major difference between Telegram and WhatsApp.

Features	WhatsApp	Telegram
Finance model	Acquired by Facebook in 2014	Privately owned and funded by Pavel Durov
Limit on group members	You can add up to 256 members in a single group	You can add up to 2,00,000 members in a single group
Size of shared files	Images, documents, videos larger than 100 MB cannot be shared using WhatsApp’s platform	Telegram allows you to share documents and files upto 1.5 GB in size
Security	WhatsApp uses E2E protocol for securing your chats It does not encrypt metadata	Although Telegram makes use of E2E encryption, it is not enabled automatically. It can be used only during the secret chat feature
Data collected by the app	Whatsapp makes use of device ID, location, phone number, email address etc.	Telegram collects limited user data which includes only user ID and contact info.
No. of downloads	The app has been downloaded more than 5 billion times	The app has been downloaded more than 500 million times

WhatsApp Alternative: Features and Privacy Policy

WhatsApp Features

End-to-end encryption for texts, voice calls and video calls.
WhatsApp stories that automatically disappear after 24 hours.
Sharing Live location with contacts.
Automatic backup of messages and media to Google drive.
UPI payments from within the app.
Broadcasting a single message to your entire contact list.
With WhatsApp web, you can access WhatsApp on mobile and laptop.
Customize notifications for group and personal chats.
Upto 8 users can join a single video call.
Capture images and snaps of documents with the app’s inbuilt camera feature.

WhatsApp Privacy Policy

After modifications in its privacy policy caused an uproar, Whatsapp has come out with a clarification that it won’t be sending your personal chats with family or friends to Facebook. Neither would it be eavesdropping on calls made through its platform. The changes would enable business accounts on WhatsApp to use Facebook’s hosting services. WhatsApp will then track how you interact with these businesses and send this data to Facebook.

Telegram Features

Self deleting messages.
You can share files upto 1.5 GB in size.
Inbuilt image editing tool for color correcting, cropping and setting exposure.
Terminate active sessions with just one click.
Save unsend messages as drafts.
Deleted files can be restored by downloading them again from the Telegram cloud.
Auto playing of downloaded media files.
You can segregate personal chats and groups into customized folders.
High degree of customization- you can select chat background, choose to see larger emojis and much more.
Inbuilt lock mechanism to keep your chats secure.
Keep-Alive feature which ensures you don’t miss any message notification.
Telegram bots which can be interacted with to improve user experience.

Telegram Privacy Policies

As per Telegram’s privacy policy, none of your data is used for showing ads. Telegram collects basic information about you such as your contact number and email address for bettering the service provided by the app.

Signal Features

In-app notifications for specific contacts and chats.
Note to self feature for jotting down important stuff and reminders.
Reacting to messages with emojis.
Insights on how many messages you send using Signal on a weekly basis.
Screen security feature prevents your chats from being visible in app switcher mode.
Invite people to join a group by sending them a link.
Automatic matching with your device’s language. Signal’s language can also be changed to some other language.
Signal for desktop can be run even with the help of keyboard shortcuts.
You have the feature of assigning a different color to each contact.
You can forward a signal message as a text message also.

Signal privacy policy

Signal does not utilize your data for the purpose of running targeted ads. It requires access to basic information such as your contacts and phone number.

WhatsApp Vs Signal Vs Telegram: Which is a Better WhatsApp Alternative?

It goes without saying that WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging platform. It has recently started supporting online payments and can also be used for business promotions. But it is fast losing confidence when it comes to keeping user data private and protected.

That is why people are looking for WhatsApp alternative apps. Telegram and Signal have some truly commendable features but are not hugely popular as WhatsApp. So if you want to keep your data safe at any cost, you can cut off from the mainstream and use Signal or Telegram. But if you use WhatsApp extensively for professional and personal use, then you might have to swallow a bitter pill and settle for the comfort WhatsApp brings.

You can also check 18 Best Free Bulk WhatsApp Sender Tools Online for Marketing