Top 8 Facebook Messenger Alternatives Android

When it comes to messaging apps these days, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger seem to rule the roost, with each blending into the other with every passing month since the latter’s purchase of the former. WhatsApp is a very useful app to own, and I like how it ties to your cellphone number rather than any arbitrary login details that can be easily forgotten. I’ve always been annoyed that you can’t access it easily on the web, though: I mean, it’s easy enough to scan your phone and bring up a chat client, but what if your phone is at the bottom of your bag or even worse, lost? And Facebook Messenger is much better when it comes from switching to the web and back, but then everyone has Facebook and it’s impossible to jump on there for private conversations without getting interrupted by others – that is unless you set your status to offline. So what of the Facebook Messenger alternatives out there that act as a way around these issues?

8. Dasher (Free)

Of course, there is again the argument that Facebook Messenger is worth owning because everybody has Facebook, so you don’t have to invite others to your messaging client, but there are some advantages to other messaging apps that you might not have noticed. Dasher is a good place to start in that case, for its exclusive features that you might not be able to find elsewhere. Part of the function of messaging apps these days is the sharing of content, which is just as important these days when people seem to converse by sharing YouTube URLs, rather than words. The Dasher client allows you to share these videos and even GIF files in the chat window, with URL rich previews that you won’t find in WhatsApp, despite its popularity and apparent status as kind of the messaging apps. – Download from Google Play

7. Tango (Free)

I guess the other good place to start when it comes to Facebook Messenger alternatives is networking: which messaging apps are built to ease communication, not just through text messaging but through sharing images, video conferencing, and that kind of thing. Facebook Messenger is never going to get to the point that Skype is at when it comes to calling people, and this is also the case with third party apps like Tango. It does the same as other instant messaging apps, but there is group chat, video calling, and lots of other extras such as news channels, and the ability to automatically find your friends based on your contact list. – Download from Google Play

6. Skype (Free)

Again, Skype is really the father of communications tools when it comes to networking, an that really puts it first in line in many ways when looking at current Facebook Messenger alternatives. If you are the kind of user who gets frustrated with the voice and video call features included with your messaging app, then Skype is worth considering as it does all this stuff by default. Yes, as an IM client it’s not up there in terms of ease of use, but it’s great if you constantly switch between a desktop computer and tablet, for example. It also represents one of the easiest ways to call landlines and mobile phones without ever leaving your app, so is worth considering if you make a lot of overseas calls and don’t want to bother with phone cards and all that stuff.- Download from Google Play

5. Hangouts (Free)

Worth considering as a viable Facebook Messenger alternative if only because it’s Google, Hangouts started life as aa messaging app but has morphed into a lot more since. It’s first and foremost an SMS and IM app, and it makes the important distinction between the two which is something you obviously won’t see in Facebook Messenger. But where Hangouts really excels however is when it comes to voice and video calls, which can be placed via your mobile device rather than going through the traditional carriers which may cost you a lot. It’s also great for networking, and is designed to deal with many people chatting or conversing via video call at the same time. – Download from Google Play

4. Kik (Free)

Kik is the messaging app you’ve never heard of, but which is currently used by almost 200 million people around the world. It is that popular, and must be that popular for a reason, right? While messaging apps and Facebook Messenger alternatives such as Kik will always live in the shadow of apps like WhatsApp, it does offer a lot of great features that have obviously attracted a fairly bulky fanbase. It is a lot more colorful than your average messaging app, and fans of things like stickers and memes will love the angle it takes. There is also a built in browser which is great for when you’re messaging and checking sites at the same time, and of course makes it a lot less messy when it comes to sharing content with friends and colleagues. – Download from Google Play

3. Telegram (Free)

Then we have Telegram, which has gained a lot of traction in the last year or so in particular thanks to its fantastic level of security. Speed and security are the attributes that would best describe Telegram, I’d say, and its efficiency is matched only by this encyption protocol that no one managed to crack, even when the app’s founder offered a $200,000 reward for anyone who could. The cross platform abilities here are strong, but I’d say that Telegram is really worth checking out if you’re the kind of user who does get paranoid about the security of the words you are typing. – Download from Google Play

2. LINE (Free)

I’ve seen LINE described as a cooler version of Skype, which is probably a decent enough summation. That’s not to say that LINE is the new kid on the block when it comes to Facebook Messenger alternatives, because this already has a huge following in and around Asia with millions using the app’s cross platform messaging and calling capabilities every day. As with Kik, there’s a lot of fun stuff to be found here with stickers and the like, and as such it is easy to see why this has become popular with the younger generations out there in the East. The timeline function is a nice touch, and media sharing is good but could be better, but where the app really stands out is when it comes to its voice messaging.- Download from Google Play

1. WhatsApp (Free)

Despite the criticisms listed previously, I’ve always found that it’s easier to conform in certain situations and that certainly goes for picking an instant messaging application. Trying to convince someone to download and use some obscure Facebook Messenger alternative can be a horrible prospect, so why not just stick to what everyone else is using? There is a reason that WhatsApp is the most popular IM app out there at present, of course, and why Facebook spent all that money of it. While this app doesn’t have the feature rich capabilities of others in the list, it works, and that’s what counts, right? – Download from Google Play