As we’re moving forward in time, technology is also making forward strides and those conventional modes of communicating and connecting with others are getting passé. The same goes for conventional SMS messages as there are lots and lots of easy-to-use chat apps that are getting popular with every passing day. Name any app we have today for messaging on smartphones, and you will find text messaging features in them along with plenty of additional features that really make them the best. From voice and video calls to file-sharing, you can take advantage of these apps on the go and make your life more productive. So, if you are interested in finding out the best chat apps for iPhone, here we have listed the real best out there. Let’s take a look and find out what specific features each of these apps have to offer.
Jump To Section:
- Skype
- Telegram
- Line
- Hangouts
- IM+
- Signal
- Messenger Kids
- Slack
- Discord
- Voxer
- Wickr Me
- Threema
- Path Talk
Best Chat Apps For iPhone Users
This list features 15 best chat apps for iPhone and iPad that have really given a new meaning to texting and connecting with friends and family over internet. Starting with the ever popular WhatsApp, let’s find out what else is featured here.
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WhatsApp
WhatsApp really is among most used apps for messaging all over the world. It’s free and can easily be set up. You can use WhatsApp for chatting and sharing stuff with others including your photos, documents, contacts and location. The app also allows you to make voice and video calls over an internet connection. In fact, in many countries, many data carriers have made it free to use WhatsApp as well which makes it easy for you to connect with your contacts even when you don’t have Wi-Fi around.
When setting it up first you have to let WhatsApp access your contacts and it will automatically put together the contact list for you. It offers support for GIFs as well as editing features similar to Snapchat as well. Besides, the app comes with end-to-end encryption to ensure ultimate security and privacy.
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Skype
Skype is an app and a desktop software from Microsoft that is popular primarily for its voice and video call functions. However it does come with a robust IM system as well. You can use Skype for sending texts, photos and also short videos as messages to your Skype contacts. You can send stuff to others even if they aren’t online. Furthermore, Skype Credits can be used for making calls to landlines and mobiles as well.
It offers many features that are not conventionally available in the chat apps such as cross-platform compatibility between mobile and desktop and the business-friendly features for the professionals. Microsoft also plans on increasing bots’ power in Skype by enabling AI programs to manage tasks such as reservations.
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Facebook
Who would have not known Facebook, the popular social platform that’s creating so much buzz these days. However, it’s not just a social platform but, like all other social websites, Facebook also offers a separate messenger app that allows you to conveniently chat with your family and friends. Your contacts are automatically populated and you can also add new contacts. The app gives you access to lots of stickers and GIFs for free. With very clear voice and video calling options, Facebook Messenger gives you a seamless experience. You can also use the Messenger app for starting secret conversations that come with end-to-end encryptions.
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Telegram
Pavel Durov developed this popular messenger app for iOS users. If you are aware of VK, the popular social network from Russia, that’s also a creation of Durov. Telegram claims to offer strongest possible protection for all your personal data and conversations. It also syncs across different devices that you use and you can start or continue your conversations any time using any device. Remember, however, that it supports only text messages and there’s no option of making video and voice calls. Nevertheless, if security is your prime concern, Telegram is undoubtedly the one of the best chat apps for iPhone.
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Line
It’s a popular app for messaging on iOS devices, particularly in Asia, and its user base seems to have gone past 600 million active users and it is continuously growing as well. It’s a feature rich app that combines a timeline for posting stuff as well as accepting comments from your friends on your posts and all conventional messaging features that any such app can be expected to come with.
You can use Line to call landlines as well as other Line users as both video and voice call options are available. There are some wonderful stickers available as well. You can also use Line for group chats that support a maximum of 200 participants. Just like Twitter, you can follow brands and artists on Line. The users can also setup albums which they can share with their friends as well. The recent addition is that of chat encryption which makes Line a must have app.
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Hangouts
All the Android phone come with Hangouts that is set as default app for messaging. However, you can also enjoy using the app on iOS and PCs. This certainly makes Google Hangouts one of the best chat apps for iPhone. For using Hangouts, you must have your own Google account. You can use the app for sharing GIFs, photos, and making video calls. Group calls are also supported. The app is quite popular as you can use it both on your desktop and mobile alike.
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IM+
If you are using several messaging services then you may fall in love with IM+. Using this iPhone app, you can send/receive text messages to and from wide array of instant messengers. So, if you are already using Google, Twitter, AIM, Yahoo, Facebook, Live, ICQ and other similar platforms, all of them can be added to IM+ where you can access all of them in one single place. IM+ can really simplify stuff for you and make life simple.
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Signal
Signal is a messaging app made by Open Whisper System and it is amongst most recommended options for those who take chat security and encryption seriously. The app comes with military-grade encryption to keep all your voice calls and messaging completely safe. There is support for text messages, voice calls, media attachments and group conversations. So, if security is your prime concern, you should look no further than Signal app.
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Messenger Kids
Messenger Kids is exclusive for iOS for now and its aim is to build safe and kid-friendly version of the Facebook Messenger app that is perfectly suited for children aged below 13 years of age. We all know that Facebook is not just fun but is also full of security controls allowing parents to ensure that their kids do not get involved in anything risky online. For kid users, the app offers color themes that can be configured and customized along with some amazing instant messaging and picture chat features such as age-appropriate frames, stickers, and other such stuff that kids can use in their video calls and also in group or one-on-one chats. The app also allows parents to control list of approved contacts so that their children can only interact with appropriate people. The Kids Messenger is free of any kind of ads and there are in-app purchases.
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Slack
Slack is a team-oriented, productivity app that is widely used by professionals all over the world. However, casual users also use the app and take advantage of some amazing features Slack has to offer such as scheduling, messaging, app integration, and management tools. Slack also covers the IM basics through real-time messaging which is synced across all your devices. There is support for file sharing, group and direct messaging. Furthermore, Slack comes with a feature that offers different chat channels that users can join and set up their subgroups quickly for topic-oriented or task-oriented discussions. All your communications are archived by the app so that you can search through all your old messages, shared files and channels. There is integration of different services as well like cloud storage, Zendesk, Asana, and more. More features come with the premium plans including better app integration and expanded file storage.
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Discord
Discord has really turned out to be a go-to option for gamers who want to connect and coordinate in as well as out of the game. This way the app has really given new perspective to messengers and chat apps. It comes with some robust text and voice chat features and allows you to create group servers, join them and organize your discussions around named voice and text channels to easily compartmentalize discussion threads.
When using the app, you can have a voice chat with fellow gamers, send photo and text messages, and also send invitation links to different servers. You can have both free and paid versions with the paid one costing you around $4.99 per month.And, with premium version have access to features like custom emoji, greater upload limits for files and photos, and animated avatars.
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Voxer
While most other apps are text-focused, Voxer is more voice-oriented and allows for sending voice messages just like push-to-talk or walkie-talkie devices. Using Voxer you can listen to live in-app messages and also the play back messages such as voice mail. It is also possible, however, to send/receive photos, videos, text, and location messages. Besides direct messaging, Voxerallows for groups featuring 500 individuals at most, as well as encrypted messaging with the help of Signal protocol. It’s a free app but with premium subscription you can be able to unlock many new features like unlimited messages history, admin controls to manage group chats, message recall, and walkie-talkie mode. Besides, you also get Extreme Notifications mode with premium access which gives extra loud notifications in noisy environments.
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Wickr Me
Wickr Me is another free messaging app that comes with end-to-end encryption. It is rightly featured on this list of chat apps for iPhone as it lets you send private messages to everyone else using Wickr. These messages can self-destruct themselves. The message type can be voice, photo, video or text. The app is more serious about user privacy than anything else, offering solid encryption mechanism and deletion of metadata like message times and geotags. Besides, it’s up to the users to decide after how much time a message should self-destruct. The app also includes a Secure Shredder which lets users to safely erase any messages, attached files, and other data so that they may not be recovered. Wickr is so confident about all the security measures taken that they have announced $100000 bug-bounty program for those who point out any security flaws in the app.
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Threema
Another of the best chat apps for iPhone that comes with end-to-end encryption, Threema uses NaCl cryptography library for protecting all your conversations. As soon as the app is launched, a Threema ID key is generated which is unique to your device and allows you to ensure that you use Threema anonymously. You can associate your ID key with your phone number or email address to get access to scannable QR codes for the purpose of user verification. Along with regular messaging features like encrypted text, picture, video and voice messages, Threema also allows for file sharing (20MB max per file), polling to get feedback from contacts and friends, and group messaging.
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Path Talk
Just like Facebook created an entirely new Messenger app by spinning off all its features related to mobile messaging, Path social network came up with its Path Talk messaging app. Basically, it focuses more on one-on-one private messaging and small groups. Besides, most of the features offered by Path Talk are basic to mobile messaging, such as audio, video, stickers and text chat. You can also use quick reply options and if you are interested you can set up quick acknowledgements and canned replies. Path Talk also gives Smart Status message option which is updated according to your location.
So, these are the top 15 chat apps for iPhone that you should choose from. In fact, there are many more but these are the real best out there. You can try them and mark your personal favorites to be used on your iOS device. If you have any other favorite that we haven’t listed here in our top 15, just let us know through comments section below.
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