The largest messaging app in China, WeChat offers users a variety of capabilities beyond messaging, including file sharing, voice and video calling, and even mini-games. The downside to the app is that its users lack privacy, which explains why the U.S. government is considering placing restrictions on WeChat for national security reasons.
As uncertainty surrounds the restrictions that U.S. users of WeChat may soon face, people are looking for WeChat alternatives to help stay in touch. Below are our three favorite alternatives to WeChat.
Like WeChat, WhatsApp has a large number of users (over 2 billion). You can use WhatsApp to chat, share files, and have voice and video calls. You can also set an image or video Status that lets your friends and colleagues know how your day is going.
The downsides to WhatsApp are that the images and videos that people share go directly into the multimedia library of your phone, which can get annoying. And the number of users allowed on a group video call at one time is eight.
AirSend
AirSend is the best new way to chat, share files, and have voice and video calls. The app’s additional capabilities — screen sharing in calls, file storage and organization, and task management — make it particularly useful in ways that WhatsApp and Skype cannot compete. You can also make each messaging channel special by customizing the chat background and logo.
The downside to AirSend is that there is no place to post status updates in your profile, and it currently lacks fun GIFs and a wider variety of emojis.
Skype
There’s a reason almost everyone has heard of Skype. Before Zoom came along, Skype was the gold standard of video conferencing apps. The reason Skype makes it on our list (and not Zoom) is because it has the messaging components and capabilities that Zoom lacks.
With Skype, you can send messages, share files, have online voice and video calls, and even make calls to phones. It also comes with a big GIF library to make chatting a little more fun.
The downsides to Skype are that it costs money to communicate with people who don’t use the app and that voice and video call quality can be spotty at times.
As you can see, there are a variety of good alternatives to WeChat, so there’s no need to fear even if usage is restricted in the future.
Between WhatsApp, AirSend, and Skype, the WeChat alternative that will work best for you will depend on what you need a messaging app for. If you want an app purely for casual or social use, either WhatsApp or Skype might be the one for you since you can post status updates and use a variety of fun GIFs and emojis to communicate your feelings. If you need an app for business use as well as casual use, then AirSend is the way to go with its additional capabilities that will make your life easier.
AirSend is a versatile digital workspace to share files, send messages, and complete tasks. Click here to see how AirSend can help you.