Open Source WhatsApp Alternatives
A curated collection of the 2 best open source alternatives to WhatsApp.
The best open source alternative to WhatsApp is Signal. If that doesn't suit you, we've compiled a ranked list of other open source WhatsApp alternatives to help you find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternative to WhatsApp is Element.
WhatsApp alternatives are mainly Data Security & Privacy but may also be Collaboration & Communication. Browse these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of WhatsApp.
Private messenger for Android that uses your data connection, with encryption always on for messages, voice and video calls.
Signal is a messenger that runs over your phone's data connection, whether WiFi, 4G or 5G, instead of the carrier messaging channel. Its privacy-preserving technology is always enabled, so there is no secure mode to remember to switch on before a conversation starts.
This repository holds the Android client. The same service has separate iOS and desktop repositories, and the Android app is distributed through the Play Store and as an APK from the project website.
Day to day, what the app offers is deliberately ordinary.
- Messaging: High-fidelity messages sent and received anywhere in the world at no cost.
- Calls: HD voice and video calls between users.
- Beta channel: A Play Store testing track for people who want builds before release.
- Translations: Localization is contributed through the community forum.
- Bug reports: GitHub issues track defects, and existing ones should be searched first.
Newcomers to the codebase are pointed at a simple bug before anything larger, and feature ideas are expected to be raised on the unofficial community forum for discussion before implementation. Troubleshooting questions go to the support center and deeper documentation lives in the wiki. The distribution includes cryptographic software, so the README carries an export classification notice that matters to anyone redistributing the app across borders.
A Matrix client for the web and desktop, giving teams and individuals decentralized chat they are free to host themselves.
Element, known previously as Vector and Riot, is a Matrix web and desktop client built on the Matrix JS SDK. Conversations travel over an open federated protocol instead of one company's servers, so both the client and the homeserver behind it can be yours.
The repository is a monorepo. Element Web sits in its own subdirectory with separate documentation, the desktop build wraps the same application in Electron, and related projects live alongside them. A hosted copy exists for trying it without installing anything, and the develop branch is continuously deployed for those who like living dangerously.
Environment support is stated in tiers rather than left vague.
- Supported: the last two major versions of Chrome, Firefox and Edge on desktop operating systems, the last two Safari versions, and the latest Element Desktop release.
- Best effort: Firefox ESR and Chrome or Edge Extended Stable, where issues are accepted but regressions do not block a release.
- Community supported: mobile web on current stable Chrome, Firefox and Safari, where contributions are welcome.
- Not supported: everything else, with issues closed if they affect only those environments.
On phones the project points to the separate native Android and iOS apps rather than mobile web. Self-hosting is documented, as is building the desktop app yourself, and default settings can be overridden per install. The software is multi-licensed, free under AGPL-3.0 or GPL-3.0, or available under a paid commercial agreement.
