What are the best CHAT Apps and Video call apps?

[skrdan]

Since Facebook bought What's app, I've been having a lot of issues with that app.It freezes my phone often either in texting and/or in a video call.  In fact, I had to update the app because it didn't function until I updated it and was mad to see FACEBOOK written on the app as I reopened it.

  I've used Google Duo which yields a crisper video phone call but there's a lot of my friends who don't want to download a ton of chat/video apps on their phones.

I've thought alot about Meshenger (can be downloaded from .org/f-droid) but chatting only works if you can scan a QR code and then, you can chat without data or WI-FI (no video calls). (It works like the old MIC phones).  Others are, LINE,. TELEGRAM and HANGOUTS. 

I have a Samsung Galaxy S5.

What has been your experience and which do you use and why?

Mar.8.:  UPDATE: have installed LINE and it has more features than WHATSAPP. Encrypted communication if you want it.  You can earn points playing air games with your friend while you chat. You can fragment your screen to display yourselves in half a frame or if you talk to 18 people at the same time, turn your phone sideways and see all their faces.  You can talk with up to 299 people on one link.Choose your filters for screen,video, photo enhancements.Share your favorite chat/vid messages with them from the LINE app folder,as you chat. There's also a LINE Antivirus app to install and keep it running smooth.

SO many features-haven't explored them all yet, having fun!

[Korth]

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@skrdan wrote:
@Korth
I'm just flabbergasted as to why, any chat/vid app, can't be accessible to anyone's cellphone of any given brand and time! Why complicate it?

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Brand names (along with their copyrights, trademarks, patents, etc) - it's every brand for itself in our cruel brand-eat-brand world.

It's why things are increasingly embedded, black-box, proprietary, closed, locked. Keep branded customers in. Keep trespassing brands out. And it's why things are increasingly fragmented, increasingly invasive.

Microsoft might've been one of the first to play this game. Google and Apple have far surpassed them, Facebook is catching up. If you're gonna revile one for anti-consumer ethics and greed then it's inconsistent to not condemn them all for using the same methods in the same business practices.

[skrdan]

@Lar, it's great that Google Duo works with iPhone, that's a big thumbs up from me. At the time Facebook came out (2006), everyone started using messenger and it was alright for awhile and then that app got tacky, so started looking at other apps on f-droid.org and playstore. And there it is, some apps work with iPhone and some don't work with Android phones!!! What to do? So frustrating it was!

[skrdan]

@Korth
I'm just flabbergasted as to why, any chat/vid app, can't be accessible to anyone's cellphone of any given brand and time! Why complicate it?
LINE, gives you the option to sign on with your Facebook account and link-in. I'VE chosen not to(put your telephone number in and hit enter), don't like anything that's got BGates'name written on it (*so many backdoors open up).

Still Korth, with the info on Trillium, I'll be looking into that, it may be just what I'm looking for.

[skrdan]

Thanks, Korth Mayor.  At the moment, I've chosen LINE and my friends are impressed by what this app can do and the way it behaves on their phone/my phone.  Again, every conversation is encrypted. My encryption keys were assigned to me, the moment before I called Italy and, spoke to my dear friend.  Sounds are clear but video can be a bit clearer. So, am good with that, at the moment.

[Lar]

My android phone came with the Hangouts app which I use for wifi calls to the USA and it's worked well.  Phone also came with google Duo app which I use for video calls to family because they have iphones and it works with them after they downloaded the app. 

[Korth]

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@srlawren wrote:

@Korth I haven't used Trillian in years--used to love it on my old BB devices "back in the day".  Is it still active and being maintained?

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Yes. Trillian releases updates very rarely, only when necessary because a major version release on a supported OS has broken full cross-platform compatibility. They've chosen to deliberately minimize updates to minimize fragmenting their users across partially-intercompatible app versions.

Supports all IM, text, SMS/MMS, audio chat, and video chat protocols - except Apple-proprietary (FaceTime) and Microsoft-proprietary/owned (Microsoft/MSN/Windows/Live Messenger, Skype).

(Trillian used to support Microsoft's Messengers and Skype - before Microsoft got rude and greedy about it - and certain "unsupported" mods exist which import these old-version Trillian components into current-version Trillian builds.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillian_(software)

There's no way to avoid installing fragmented communication apps on a phone. Unless you can converge your people onto specific apps, converge multiple discrete apps into specific apps, or choose to let Apple decide how to converge all these things for you.

@skrdan Trillian lets you assign whatever ringtones you like to each of your contacts and each of your contacts groups. Most apps do. It's good and bad, and it's just the way things are.

[skrdan]

@Korth 

I agree,but the whole reason in asking is because I JUST didn't want so many chat/video/calling apps on my phone. It's also hard to tell which one is calling you-cuz I can't remember all those ringtones!!!!

[skrdan]

@yanzhiqiang

well,I'm asking the public,-- that would be you.

So,which do you use and why?What's your experience been?

[skrdan]

I loved the old Skype and the wayback when (2006-2011) Messenger. Recently disappointed to find out that Instagram,WhtsAPP and Facebook now looking to combine all apps into new social program. Am using LINE now, but this can change.

[srlawren]

@Korth I haven't used Trillian in years--used to love it on my old BB devices "back in the day".  Is it still active and being maintained?

[Korth]

FaceTime is the winner, no contest. On Apple/iOS devices.

For Android (and Windows, and linux) I prefer Signal as much as possible. Lightweight, clean, stable, secure (and trusty), all the typical toys and features. 

Skype ain't great but it's common on numerous platforms. Whatsapp is dead to me, lol. Facebook is overwhelming popular with everyone but me. MSN, AOL, ICQ, and Jabber all still have their weirdo adherents, but at least you can run something like Trillian to connect with the whole lot instead of polluting your phone with clunky junkwares.

The reality is thst communications is about compatibility. You have to run whatever the people you chat with are running, or run something compatible, or establish some other method to chat with them.

[yanzhiqiang]

hard to tell which is the best all depend on which one your friends are using.

[will13am]

Old habits are hard to break, I still like hangouts for the ability to dial phone numbers.  With a google voice number in hand, I can call the US and Canada for free.  I also use signal, telegram, and whatsapp.  

[srlawren]

@skrdan I know a lot of people (esepcially my iPhone-using friends) complain about WhatsApp, but for me it's been rock-solid for several years.  I have multiple group chats (one very active, and 2-3 moderately to less active) and between 2 and 5 one-on-one conversations with activity daily.  Admittedly, other than briefly trying, I've done little voice or video calling with it.  But for messaging, for me it's a big win and my favourite.  EDIT: both my significant other and my mother use WhatsApp, so it's pretty much a must for me.

Next up I would say is a probably Facebook Messenger.  I don't really *like* it, but it's the only way to stay in touch with a few peeps.  It does what it does well enough, I just prefer WhatsApp.  Skype (reguarly old personal Skype) would be a close 3rd, but I only keep in touch with a few key people there.  It's been a bloated mess in the past, but in recent history the app has been lean enough and stable for me.  EDIT: as a last resort, is plain ol' SMS using Google Messages, for the handful of iPhone friends who refuse to use anything but iMessage.

I don't know enough people (if any) on Line, Signal, WeChat, or any of the others.  For business use, I'm about 75% Microsoft Teams and about 25% Slack, but I wouldn't really recommend either for personal use.  Well, maybe Slack, possibly.

Then of course, there's all the social apps with DM: Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, probably others.  I've only dabbled briefly [from a messaging perspective anyway], but prefer an actual IM app over messaging inside a social media app, personally.  Might just be me!

[RickB]

The talk now app Is a good one my wife uses it all the time, just go into your App Store and you can generally tell just by the reviews which ones would be good. Cheers