Being able to communicate with family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers across the world is one of the biggest advantages that the internet has brought to us. From email to instant messaging to videoconferencing, there are plenty of different ways to get a hold of people from all over the globe, and for the most part, it’s almost always free.
Not every app is the same, however, and some offer greatly enhanced usability, security, privacy, and accessibility than others. Let’s discover some of the very best communication-based apps that are available right now.
Instant Messaging
WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are some of the most widely used statant messaging apps in the world, but there are alternatives that provide much stronger privacy. Signal, for instance, has been growing in popularity in recent years, and offers much better privacy, along with end-to-end encryption for all messages. It’s a valid alternative to WhatsApp and continues to grow every day.
Session and Briar are two other privacy-enhanced instant messaging apps that offer even more privacy than Signal, but the downside is that these two apps are not nearly as popular, and it might be more difficult to convince other people to give them a try.
Group Messaging
Being able to add, create, and join groups is great for a family or for a group of colleagues wanting to collaborate on a piece of work. While Microsoft Teams and Google’s G-Suite are all decent options, they lack integrated privacy options.
This is why it might be a good idea to check out the Matrix network, as well as the Element apps that are available for both mobile and desktop that work on top of the Matrix protocol, perfect for work or to follow groups for the latest software, development, or even news on Australian bingo games online.
Developers wanting access to popular group-based messaging might want to check out Libera Chat, which makes use of the decades old but incredibly popular IRC network.
Video Conferencing
As the work from home movement has gained serious traction since the pandemic, it’s become more important than ever to have access to high quality video conferencing software that’s easy to use and provides excellent privacy.
While many might want to make use of the ever-popular Zoom and Skype, a third option is Jitsi. Jitsi is open source video calling software that’s offered on desktop and mobile, and is a great alternative to Skype or Zoom. It’s also completely free to download and use and offers much stronger privacy than many of the more mainstream alternatives.
Email will always be one of the more popular methods of sending professional messages, and while Outlook and Gmail are fine, there are better options for increased security and privacy.
Proton Mail is an excellent option, and thanks to the fact that it’s based in Switzerland, it has much stronger privacy than its main competitors. Another great option is Tutanota, a German-based email service that encrypts everything from the emails to the calendar to the contacts.