I am also using Threema and many friends use it, too. Another interesting thing: since this WhatsApp/Facebook thing arose, many people are now requesting to have their unused accounts deleted, I get quite a few PMs by one or zero post members asking to have their account deleted in order to not leave any traces. I guess/hope people are more aware of what they're doing and what happens with their data.
@Paiva I had a look at all alternatives, also Telegram. It is a no-go to me (cloud store) and they store the messages on their servers. They seem to be data collectors such as whatsapp. I don't trust free products, why should one run something for free (without any own benefit)??? They have costs to run the service / developing and they have no ads. How should that work without to sell 'something'??? Threema convinced me more since they do only cache the data until they are delivered and their encryption is very strong. But most important is that people move away from whatsapp (monopoly), no matter which alternative they prefer. Monopolies are harmful. I want to publish the 'think different' idea, if you know what I mean. MDL is known for its strong and helpful community, also for controversy. The spirit is to share for free...The NSA thing and windows 8 changed a lot, my idea is to move the focus if needed...to alternatives.....I want people to open their eyes.
I dropped WhatsApp as soon as I heard FB had bought them Now use WeChat - looks and acts similar, best Ive found so far Facebook comes nowhere near my machines / devices
~~ viber ~~ as for me, viber looks like only one mighty and free alternative... beside other free messengers... which have a client for android/iphone/windows/linux/mac and can to make voice calls... (telegram can not do voice chat) - and yes, I really need ALL of these possibilities. I've used hangouts some period and really like it (like a jabber client, when it was a googletalk but, do not using now. I'm sure, google will play with messengers.... will see what they gonna make to love it) Also linphone was interesting for me (skype alternative) but few months ago it looks for me little ugly and buggy. For today we have a new player - FF. "Firefox Hello lets you make free video and voice calls directly from the browser." So, we'll try, and we'll see
I have never used FB nor do I plan to ever use it - and Whatsapp has always seemed like more trouble than it is worth so I've never tried it either. Since most everything is monitored somehow I don't get too knotted up about privacy anymore, but I'm also not going to willingly share SMSs & stuff if I don't have to. I do presently use SMS - but with some difficulty...you see=> My Android phone uses wifi only - with no carrier - its not activated. Most of the apps mentioned here force all users to have their app; Worse for me - some apps also will not work with wifi-only as data. Does anyone here know which one of the free SMS apps will use wifi/data only - and maybe even one that has a PC desktop app as well for SMS ?? For example - Viber looks quite nice & has a PC desktop app, BUT to use it one must force one's friends to also get the Viber app rather than just being able to send to the friend's number. Thanks for any pointers.
Imho, there's no such thing like free. Free means, you pay with your privacy. The top 3 clients who are again imho are : whatsapp -> FB Telegram -> Russian company Viber -> Israeli company. my 0,02$
a non-carrier based POV... Most apps & services for texting are quite useless for Wifi-only users. Whatsapp is a great example of this. (Even if it weren't a FB property it would be useless for me.) It is usually assumed that folks with mobile phones have carrier-based service and a phone number... This is not always correct; many folks have smartphones without any carrier service activated at all. It is fully possible to enjoy having a smartphone with it using Wifi only. The problem which such users must solve for many uses then becomes how to get a phone number ?? One example solution for this is TextNow. I have been using TextNow on my Wifi-only phone for a little while now and it is pretty good. This app & service solves the sticky problem for Wifi-only users of having no phone number. It is 100% free, and they do give you a phone number & you can text & get calls free. It also works via their site from the PC. TextNow competes with TextPlus - which is not quite as good IMO, but may be worth a try for anyone needing something like this.