Cover photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash.

Starting from almost nothing, WhatApp (almost) killed the SMS and established (near) global dominance in less than 15 years. Given this meteoric rise to the top of the digital messaging world, it's not surprising that WhatsApp caught the attention of Facebook (now Meta) and the rest, as they say, is history.

If you're like me and want to avoid Meta as much as possible, though, this throws up a pretty obvious dilemma. How do you get away from a messaging app when it's your primary means of communication with friends and family?

For many of those wanting to escape the data-scraping clutches of big tech, avoiding WhatsApp is the white whale that's always just out of reach.

Some apps are so popular, they seem impossible to avoid. Photo by Ralph Olazo on Unsplash.

My experiment

Before I started this, I set myself a modest target. As somebody who has used WhatsApp and Messenger for years to stay in touch with loved ones, I wasn't going to cut everybody off overnight. Instead, I'd explore what else was out there, give some alternatives a try, see if any of them could help me spend less time on Meta's services, and maybe even take a few people along with me.

For this experiment I decided to score each alternative out of 5 stars for usability and origin..

#1: Signal

If you've spoken to anybody about trying to leave WhatsApp, this one is bound to have come up. Reputed to be one of the most secure messaging apps in existence, Signal offers encrypted messaging, meets European standards such as GDPR, and it's based on open source technology (Source: Cyber Insider).

Founded by one of the original co-founders of WhatsApp, Signal offers a lot of the same features and offers a comforting visual similarity. As somebody that tries to support European businesses as much as possible, Signal does suffer from the drawback of being owned by the California-based Signal Foundation, but it's otherwise very solid.

Usability: 5 Stars, I have no complaints.

Origin: 3 Stars, open source, but US-based.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash.

#2: Telegram

This one is interesting to say the least. The app itself functions well and it'll be an easy and intuitive switch if you're used to WhatsApp. A lot of the software is open-source, and the company claims to be GPDR compliant and advertises itself as a safe and secure service (Source: Cyber Insider).

But, my gosh, there are a lot of controversies around this app. Only last month, Telegram was temporarily removed from the Apple App store over concerns about the sharing of child abuse materials (Source: The Verge). The app is also widely used by vocal Russian government supporters, despite the Russian government charging the company's founder with facilitating terrorism (Source: BBC News).

Usability: 3 Stars, it functions well but there are concerns about bots and other security issues.

Origin: 2 Stars, open source which is great, but the company is mired in a lot of controversies.

Photo by Dimitri Karastelev on Unsplash.

#3: Olvid

At last, I arrived at a European option, and I was excited to give it a try! In general, Olvid is good. It doesn't have the most beautiful design in the world, but it's functional and it does what you'd expect for a messaging app.

Olvid is a secure French messaging service, and one that was made mandatory for some French government employees in 2023, despite criticism that the app uses Amazon web infrastructure (Source: Le Monde). Calling is a paid feature, requiring a subscription, which will likely be a turn off for many potential users, but personally I don't mind making a small contribution to the development of European tech.

Usability: 4 Stars, while messaging works well, notifications don't always work properly.

Origin: 4 Stars, being European is a big plus for me, but open source and without AWS would be better.

Photo by Sebastien Gabriel on Unsplash.

The outcome of my experiment

So, after several months switching back and forth between apps, how did I do at replacing WhatsApp?

Firstly, Telegram was a bust for me. I know it's a widely downloaded app, but people in my circle don't seem to use it, and I'd feel awkward recommending an app with so much bad press.

Signal was a pleasant surprise, with multiple friends already using it, which made it easy to move those activities over to a different, non-Meta app.

When it came to Olvid, only my dear partner could be convinced to switch over to it with me, which is too bad. But then again, my partner is one of the people I message the most, so I'm calling it a win.

Conclusion: For as long as most people are happy coasting along and sticking to what they know, WhatsApp is still going to be a part of life and we won't be able to say goodbye entirely. If, however, your goal is just to minimize the amount of time you spend on Meta apps, Signal is worth a shot.

And if you get Olvid, let me know, it´d be nice to have more than one person to talk to on there!