10 Messaging Apps for Mobile Device Users Who Are Tired of SMS

We look at 10 alternatives to traditional SMS that are popular, easy to use, reliable, available on multiple platforms and often save chat history.

Facebook’s own messaging app, Facebook Messenger, is one of the more popular services in the world. The app is designed to allow Facebook users to instantly send messages between each other. Facebook Messenger is an exceedingly convenient app that lets users send texts, photos and videos to their friends.

WhatsApp, available for free on mobile platforms, offers text, video and audio support. WhatsApp also supports VOIP calling when WhatsApp users have an Internet connection.

Apple’s Messages application is one of the easiest ways for iOS and OS X users to communicate with each other. The app lets users send text, video and audio, regardless of whether they or their recipients are on a Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Messages is an Apple product, however, so those who would like to download it on other platforms are out of luck.

Thanks to its encryption support, Telegram has been growing in leaps and bounds in the last several months. The app is designed for users who want to communicate with the confidence that all of their messages are fully encrypted. In fact, Telegram has come under fire from lawmakers who have complained about its use of encryption and the inability for law enforcement to access potentially malicious content.

Built by Open Whisper Systems, Signal is another app for those who want to maximize their privacy. Like Telegram, communication through Signal is fully encrypted, so third-parties cannot see what is being discussed. As with the other apps, Signal supports text, video and audio, without ever incurring an SMS or Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) fee.

BlackBerry has been offering its BBM platform for years. While it’s not as popular as it once was and several alternatives are much bigger, BBM is still popular, with hundreds of millions of users. The app works across multiple OS platforms, including BlackBerry OS and iOS, among others. It still has the feel that old-time BlackBerry owners are familiar with.

Although Yahoo’s core business may be sold, the company’s Messenger application is still going strong. The app allows users across all kinds of platforms to hold one-on-one or group chats. It also includes an Unsend feature that lets Web users recall mistakenly sent messages. Yahoo Messenger, like BBM, is a bit like stepping back in time, but it generally works well for those who still rely on their Yahoo accounts to keep in touch with friends.

The Hangouts messaging app is much younger than BBM or Yahoo Messenger, but the app has caught on among Google users. Hangouts work across Google’s platforms and all Web browsers, allowing users to communicate on everything from Gmail to Android. The app also works on iOS and other mobile platforms, and can be easily installed on desktops. Hangouts is Google’s answer to Yahoo Messenger, and includes both video and voice calls.

Microsoft’s Skype may be a VOIP service first, but that doesn’t mean that’s all there is. Quite the contrary, Skype is a full-service messaging application that handles practically any kind of communication users would want—from video to voice. Skype works on every major platform, but users need to sign up for the service to try it out. It’s a nice option for those who want a multi-platform experience.

With a user base of more than 500 million people, WeChat is a popular messaging service. Interestingly, WeChat has a large population outside the United States and is especially popular in China. The service, founded by China-based Tencent, includes all of the features users would find in the other platforms and includes free voice calling, which is another feature that makes it popular with users around the world.