Instead of WhatsApp
Signal
Looks and behaves like the thing you already use, which is the entire point. Uses your phone number as the identifier.
What it is
End-to-end encrypted messaging, voice and video, run by a non-profit foundation. Group chats, voice notes, disappearing messages, desktop app. The protocol it uses is the same one WhatsApp licensed.
What you give up
- Your contacts have to be there too. This is the only real obstacle and it is a social one, not a technical one.
- A phone number is still required as your identifier, though usernames now cover most day-to-day contact.
- Backups are deliberately awkward, because a convenient backup is a copy someone else can read.
How to move
- 01Install it. It finds which of your existing contacts are already on it — usually more than you expect.
- 02Move one group first. Family, or the three people you message most.
- 03Set your WhatsApp status or display name to say where you are now.
- 04Leave WhatsApp installed for the stragglers. Nobody wins a purity contest by missing a wedding invitation.