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Smartphones have become a lot more capable over the years and so have the messaging apps and services that we use on a daily basis to connect with our friends and family. All the advancements in smartphone technology have given us some powerful communication tools, and you are no longer limited to SMS messages or voice calls. There are some incredibly powerful messaging apps out there that let you send everything from simple texts to media files or even play games in some cases.

Not all messaging apps on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store are worth considering, which is why we wanted to highlight some of the best ones you should try. Let's dive in!

Best for Android users: Google Messages

You can download a ton of messaging apps on Android phones, but Google Messages is all you need to stay connected with your peers. It uses RCS for a rich messaging experience, and it even features SMS fallback for users without RCS. Google Messages has also received a ton of updates over the last few years, and it's a lot more capable now. You get features like AI-powered message sorting, auto-delete OTP deletion, the ability to star important messages, and more.

Google has also added support for iMessage reactions on Google Messages, meaning it's perfect to chat with your friends who are using iMessage on an Apple device. It comes pre-installed on Google Pixel phones, but you can easily download it for free on other devices from the Play Store. Google Messages will replace the default messaging app on your phone so that you can use it as a hub for all your messaging needs.

Best for Apple Devices: iMessage

iMessage is the default messaging service on Apple devices, and it’s the one that we recommend using if you happen to have an iPhone. Simplicity, ease of use, and seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem are the main strengths of iMessage. It also supports SMS/MMS fallback, meaning all your iMessages and standard text messages are integrated into a single app; no need to use a separate SMS app.

One of the best things about using iMessage is that it automatically syncs across all your Apple devices, so you can essentially pick up and continue a conversation from your iPhone on your MacBook, iPad, or even Apple Watch. iMessage also offers all the standard instant messaging features, such as read receipts, end-to-end encryption, voice notes, GIFs, stickers, and more. With iOS 16, the app has gained several neat tricks, including the ability to edit or completely delete a sent message and mark a conversation as unread.

The only notable omission from iMessage is RCS support, the next-gen text messaging protocol that will eventually replace SMS. Google has publicly called out Apple multiple times for not adopting RCS, but it remains to be seen if/when Apple will add RCS support to iMessage.

Best app that works on both: WhatsApp Messenger

WhatsApp is easily one of the most popular messaging apps out there, and it's simply because it works flawlessly on most Android and iOS devices. WhatsApp is completely free-to-use, meaning pretty much anyone with an active SIM card can download the app and start using it over the Internet. This particular application has a massive user base of over 2.5 billion active users worldwide, and it goes to show just about popular it really is.

WhatsApp doesn't have a lot of fancy features that are offered by other competing services, and it's often not the first to adapt to the new ones, either. But its rather large and active user base draws the most attention to make it one of the most popular messaging apps out there. It does have all the basics and a lot of useful features like voice and video calling, too, so it's not like you are missing out on anything in particular.

You also get things like end-to-end encryption for texts and calls, support for stickers, stories, multi-device, and more too. You can even use its built-in payment service called WhatsApp Pay in select countries, so that's quite useful too. If you don't want to use the default messaging apps on your Android or iOS device and you'd rather download a dedicated messaging app, then consider checking out WhatsApp.

Best for features: Telegram

Telegram was once hailed as the 'hail Mary' of privacy in instant messaging, and for what it's worth, it's still pretty good in that respect, even though its "security" and "encryption" spots got dethroned by apps using end-to-end encryption protocols. But Telegram has started to focus more on building a whole social network experience around their concept of messaging.

Telegram has massive groups with thousands of people, channels, and communities, and even recently got an audio/video chatting experience similar to Clubhouse. Plus, it also constantly adds new features to improve the user experience, features automated bots, and much more. There's a new feature released practically every couple of weeks, and the users can't get enough of it.

In an attempt to monetize the platform, the service has launched Telegram Premium, a subscription plan that gives users exclusive additional features, including an increased file sharing limit of up to 4GB, faster downloading speeds, access to unique stickers and emoji, animated profile picture, the ability to convert voice messages to text on the fly, and more.

Best for privacy: Signal

Signal is a great IM app, but it is a bit barebone in what it does, as most of its focus is on user privacy. In fact, WhatsApp and Signal share the same end-to-end encryption protocol, the Signal protocol (made by, you guessed it, Signal). But just because it works like WhatsApp under the hood doesn't mean the apps are closely related at all.

While WhatsApp is backed by a big tech company (Facebook), Signal is backed by the Signal Foundation, a non-profit organization, and makes keeping your messages and personal information safe from prying eyes a big part of their marketing. It's one of the best IM apps if you care about security as much as your privacy.

Best for social integration: Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger started as the messaging component of Facebook in 2011, and from there, Facebook started spinning it off into its own thing. Currently, Facebook Messenger is still the messaging component of Facebook, but it can also work stand alone without a Facebook account. If you wish, you can also integrate both Facebook and Instagram messaging into the same app. Given that Facebook Messenger also works with SMS, the app tries to be an all-in-one messaging hub which can either be a godsend or extremely annoying, depending on your perspective.

You should consider this app if you need to keep tabs on Facebook and Instagram messaging. It offers a plethora of features, though. So if you're the type of user who loves having an abundance of features, then you must check this out. This particular application will let you send messages and media, video chat with your friends, and even play games with a group. There's also a "Lite" version of this app for those using a less powerful phone or having connectivity issues.

Best for groups and communities: Discord

Discord is easily one of the most popular messaging platforms out there right now. What launched as a gaming-focused VoIP/instant messaging service to allow gamers to coordinate with each other over voice channels while playing games has now turned into one of the most feature-rich messaging platforms that are perfect for large groups and communities.

You can start your own Discord server as a hang-out place for your friends, or you can scale it up as much as you want and have servers with thousands of people, bots, several channels, and more. You can also subscribe to Discord Nitro service to enjoy several premium features like higher-quality streaming. It's one of the best IM apps if you're going to focus on group messaging and communication over anything else. We even have a dedicated tutorial explaining how to create a Discord bot, so be sure to check it out if you are planning to create your own server.

Best for businesses: Slack

Slack is often compared to Discord, and we can clearly see why -- it provides similar functionality and allows users to create separate channels for different purposes. But Slack features a lot more features suitable for businesses than anything else. It features integrations with other services to maximize your workflow, supports bots to either automate parts of your workflow or do the stuff no one wants to do, supports message pinning, managing and tracking documents, and more.

Slack also lets you collaborate with different workplaces, meaning you can have people from other workplaces join the channels in yours. Notably, Slack also has dedicated tools for organizing meetings within the app, so it's a great way to ensure you keep all your work-related communications within a single app. If you have a team and want to have a reliable method of communication inside your team, Slack is your best option.

Honorable Mention: Google Chat

Google Chat gets an honorable mention, both because of Google's hilariously bad history with messaging services and because it's actually not that bad once you take a closer look at it. Google Chat was launched in 2017 as one of the two apps that form the replacement for Google Hangouts, the other one being Google Meet (which is being merged with Google Duo, yikes). You're probably already familiar with Google Meet as a Zoom alternative, but Google Chat is meant to take care of the messaging component.

Google woes aside, however, Google Chat is meant to be good as both a one-on-one messaging service and a service for teams, similar to Slack, providing similar functionality. So if Slack isn't your team's cup of tea, and you'd rather stick to Google services, then maybe Google Chat would be a good option for you.

Best messaging apps in 2023

The truth about instant messaging services is that features and innovations play a very small role in deciding their success. For most users, familiarity, ease of use, and adoption are the deciding factors when it comes to choosing an IM service. And that's why it's tough to pick an outright winner here because the best messaging app is almost always what the majority of your friends, family, and colleagues are using — even if it's less technically superior to the rest of the competition.

The default messaging apps made by both Google and Apple, however, are enough for most users. Both Google Messages and iMessage offer a ton of great features, and they allow you to seamlessly communicate with your peers with a reliable fallback option. It would be nice to see support for RCS in iMessage, but that's not necessarily holding them back. There are plenty of other features to look forward to, and they both work on almost all phones that belong to their respective platforms.

You can always choose to go with something like WhatsApp or Telegram too, if you want to have a better experience communicating with someone on a different platform. Both of these apps work flawlessly on both iOS and Android, so be sure to check them out.