Signal Messenger vs Telegram vs WhatsApp vs Threema
Why did I switch from WhatsApp to SIGNAL MESSENGER instead TELEGRAM or THREEMA? In this video I’ll answer this and other Frequently Asked Questions about Signal.
Signal vs. WhatsApp
One thing in advance: I do not want to talk you out of WhatsApp if you’re happy with it. Because the biggest advantage of WhatsApp is that almost everyone uses it. So why did I switch to Signal? Quite simple: It bothers me that WhatsApp is sharing user date with facebook. That’s why I was looking for an alternative and deliberately had chosen Signal for the following reasons…
Signal vs. Telegram
Telegram has a lot more users than Signal. Why not Telegram? Two reasons speak against it:
1. By default, Telegram does not encrypt your messages and is thus less secure than Signal. So you and your friends would first have to enable end-to-end encryption on Telegram and of course not everyone remembers to do this. Signal encrypts all messages and this encryption is also checked by experts.
2. The business model of Telegram is not sustainable, because the company behind it finances itself. So when the money runs out, no one can guarantee that Telegram won’t be sold to i.e. facebook. And then you’d have to look for a new alternative. Signal, on the other hand, is financed exclusively through donations and therefore independent.
Signal vs. Threema
Threema is also a very secure messenger. The servers are in Switzerland and you won’t even have to use your phone number for registration. So why not use Threema instead of Signal? The problem: Threema now costs about 3,- €. That’s not much, but I don’t want to ask all of my friends to buy something just to keep in touch with me. With Signal that’s not necessary because it’s free. And Signal is at least as safe and trustworthy as Threema. Why? That I’ve already explained in another video.
Users
What good is Signal if nobody uses the app? Good question. I have to admit that I only had 3(!!!) people in my contact list when I installed Signal. But then I simply told my friends why I wanted to switch. And almost everybody showed understanding and just installed Signal in addition to WhatsApp. My contact list is now a bit bigger. With all others I write just regular SMS or via iMessage between Apple devices.
Features
Signal masters all the basic functions of a messenger, that is:
text messages
voicemails
images
videos
GIFs
group chats
even phone and video calls
What doesn’t work are status messages like from WhatsApp or video chats with multiple people at the same time. But I’ve never used the WhatsApp status anyway and for video calls I prefer FaceTime.
Android
Is Signal available for Android? Yes.
Landscape Format
Is it possible to write messages in landscape format with Signal? No.
Backup
Can old messages be transferred to a new mobile phone? Yes and no. Yes with Android. But currently not with an iPhone, even through an iTunes or iCloud backup. If this is a problem for you, then you should definitely make a backup in WhatsApp, because otherwise that will affect you as well. This doesn’t bother me, because I delete old chats regularly anyway. Keyword: cleaning your iPhone. And before that I save all memorable photos and videos.
Notifications
Why does not Signal display any new messages? Then maybe you didn’t allow the app to send notifications. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to the section “Notifications”. Here you can control if and how Signal should notify you.
My plan from the last video worked out: I’ve completely switched to Signal and deleted my WhatsApp account. Thanks for watching and see you next video. Bye :-)
Links
• WhatsApp Alternative: SIGNAL Messenge...
https://motherboard.vice.com/de/artic...
https://telegram.org/faq#q-how-are-yo...
https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/a...
• Diese Alternativen zu WhatsApp empfeh...
Music
“I Am Running Down the Long Hallway of Viewmont Elementary” from Chris Zabriskie (YouTube Audio Library)
I Am Running Down the Long Hallway of Viewmont Elementary from Chris Zabriskie is licensed under “Creative Commons Attribution” (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/honor/
Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/
#signalapp #telegram #threema