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Owned by Japanese e-retailer Rakuten, Viber is a service that started life as a VoIP app and gradually grew to include things like text messaging, voice calls, group messaging, fully synced desktop and mobile apps, and more. iPhone users can get Duo from the Apple App Store.ĭownload Google Duo: Android, iOS Threema The good news is that Duo is likely already installed on your Android phone, and if it’s not it’s free to download from Google Play.

That’s right: Just as iMessage and FaceTime are still separate for some reason, so are Messages and Duo, although the latter's app isn't restricted to Android devices. What Messages doesn’t have is video and voice calling, since that’s all handled by Google Duo. The obvious downside is that it only works for phones that support RCS, anything that doesn't (iPhones included) have to resort to the old insecure methods. Which is not ideal if you're rocking an iPhone.Įnd-to-end encryption is automatic when you’re messaging anyone else with Google Messages and you can send all your usual images and files as you would with something like WhatsApp. Instead you link an Android device to a web browser tab, much like WhatsApp's Linked Devices feature. It's possible to use the service on Windows and Apple devices, but not as a standalone app. If you can't find it, you can download Google Messages from Google Play.ĭesigned to replace your existing SMS app and integrated with all Google’s services, Google Messages is essentially iMessage, but for Android. Google Messages is Google’s answer to iMessage, and it's usually available on modern Android phones right out of the box. At least it’s already installed on all iPhones and most Macs.

Why iMessage and FaceTime haven’t been blended into one single communications app isn’t clear, but that’s the way it is. Video and voice calling is not included in iMessage, and you’ll have to do that in the FaceTime app instead - and FaceTime works only with Apple devices. In some countries iMessage users can even send each other money using Apple Pay. IMessage is just as fully-featured as other popular messaging apps, with support for images, GIFs, video and group calls. So your messages stay safe (unless someone can read your iCloud backups). Still Apple has a proven track record of not bending to demands by governments that it add backdoors to its encryption. So your Apple-based messages are secure, but everything else isn't. IMessage will let you send messages to all phone numbers, whether they use iMessage or not, but texting to Android devices relies on old-fashioned SMS thanks to Apple's refusal to support RCS. If you’re an iPhone or Mac user, then the simplest option is sometimes the best, and iMessage is the ideal alternative to WhatsApp. Provided you're communicating with fellow iPhone users, that is.