Best messaging apps for Android

Google Messages RCS chatting on a Pixel 4a.

(Image credit: Android Central)

Jump to:

Google Messages
Telegram
WhatsApp
Facebook Messenger
Signal
Discord
Slack
Snapchat
Security is paramount
Making the switch

Communicating on your phone has gone far beyond simple SMS messages and voice calls. We have social messengers, secret messengers, professional messengers, and power-packed messengers, so it can be challenging to settle on which services are worth your time. If you need a little help deciding what to use to ask your friends if they're free for coffee or ranting with GIFs about the latest episode of your favorite show, here are our favorites.

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With the exception of a few of the best Android phones, Google Messages has become the default SMS app on Android. This is for good reason as it's also the best messaging app that can handle text messages and RCS chat features.

Telegram allows you to create a robust community, or just stick to just singular conversations. But the power of the app is obvious when you start browsing the different settings and features that are offered.

Using WhatsApp has been a mixed bag, with many concerns over privacy thanks to how it's owned by Meta. Some of those issues have been remedied, and it remains one of the most popular messaging apps across the globe. This is helped greatly thanks to its robust set of features that Meta keeps adding.

Google Messages

Whether you're just trying to send a text to your friends or you want to have a full-blown conversation, Google Messages is likely the place you're going to start. Messages has greatly improved over the years, and while it's still not as great as the heyday of Hangouts, it's still pretty great. RCS features have been added, creating more of an experience than you would find with some of the other apps on this list.

Perhaps the best reason for using Google Messages is that it doesn't require any finesse or convincing for your friends to use. We all know how frustrating and difficult it can be to get our friends and family members to move to a new platform, but with Messages you don't have to go that route. Just use it and Messages just works.

The app is free and already pre-installed on your phone, and more than likely, it's already in your dock. Outside of RCS features, you also have the ability to send and receive messages from your desktop browser. That way you don't always have to keep looking at your phone throughout the day. Check out some of the app's coolest and most helpful features below.

Telegram home screen on an Android phone held in one hand outdoors in the day time. — (Image credit: Jeramy Johnson / Android Central)

Telegram is one of those fun applications that offers a slew of great chatting features, along with others you may not even know about. You can use it to create enormous communities of like-minded folks, or just stick to sending messages with a few friends who made the leap from something else. There are fun features including the ability to create custom sticker packs, like the MrMobile sticker pack that former Android Central writer Hayato Huseman created.

It's easy to use Telegram on any device that you own, regardless of whether you just grabbed the new iPad Pro or are looking to pick up one of the best Chromebooks. You can keep up with those group chats from wherever you are, or mute them if your friends are just flying off the rails on a Friday afternoon.

Telegram isn't the best chat app out there, nor is it the most private messaging app, but it's a lot better than others that you may find yourself using on a regular basis. It provides a great balance of everything you need, along with some features that you may not, and others that you'll come to know and love.

WhatsApp spam India — (Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

When you look at the most popular messaging apps across the world (and amongst the writers here at Android Central, WhatsApp is almost always at the top of the list. The app is arguably the biggest competition to iMessage simply due to the enormous user base. However, the problem is that since it's owned by Meta, there are more than a few privacy concerns. Meta and WhatsApp have made strides to fix those issues, essentially putting it back in good standing for people to use.

As for the features you'll find, you can use WhatsApp to make phone calls even if you don't have a stable connection, along with the ability to have some fun and use the likes of stickers and mini-apps built into the main app. Meta has done a great job with the messaging app lately, bringing us a slew of awesome features and granular privacy settings for chats and status updates.

WhatsApp has even gone so far as to integrate country-specific features, such as the ability to use India's UPI infrastructure for payments. Being able to quickly send money to your friend for a movie ticket without having to stop the conversation or switch to another app is just one reason as to why WhatsApp is as popular as it is.

Other great options

Though they didn't quite make it into our top three, here are the best of the rest when it comes to Android messaging apps.

Facebook Messenger

For better or worse, Facebook Messenger continues to grow in popularity. The biggest reason for this is because just about everyone you know has a Facebook account. There are some that have tried and successfully left the platform, but it's just not possible for others, especially if you use Messenger to keep in contact with friends and family.

New features have been continuously added to the messaging platform, including the ability to send payments, play games with a group of friends, and have a group video chat. There's even a "Lite" version available for those who don't want all of the bells and whistles or have internet connectivity issues.

Signal

Signal logo on a phone held up in one hand

(Image credit: Jeramy Johnson / Android Central)

If you're tired of worrying about your messages staying private, then there's no better option than Signal. The company offers end-to-end encryption for all of your messages, and shares specific reasons why your data may end up needing to be shared. But none of these reasons are to sell your data, and are more in line with local law enforcement or if you break the terms of service.

The UI of Signal may look a bit familiar if you've spent any time with Telegram. It offers a simplistic interface while providing a few different options to change the appearance, view any of your linked devices, and more. It's also super easy to use since it uses your existing phone number.

The biggest problem for Signal is the lack of a web or Chrome app. If you want to use this on your PC, you will need to install the desktop application. Nevertheless, if privacy is the name of the game, Signal should be your weapon of choice.

Discord

Discord app logo on a Google Pixel 6

(Image credit: Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central)

Discord started out as a fun messaging platform designed with gamers in mind, but it's since turned into what we expected from Slack when that app first released. There are a multitude of integrations and bots that can be added to community chats, which are super easy to set up.

But at its core, Discord makes it easy to fire it up from any platform and start messaging with your friends. It even makes for a wonderful option if you want to have a group voice chat while you're playing the latest PS5 multiplayer games.

Slack

At one point, Slack seemed like it was going to end up turning into the messaging app that everyone defaulted to. However, over the years it's grown and expanded into a platform that caters more to businesses. It's our primary source of communication here at Android Central, and it offers a wide array of features to make messaging colleagues easier.

You can integrate apps like Google Drive, Asana, and others to keep up with tasks or share documents. You can even have a little fun and create custom emoji that also serve as reactions for messages. Slack is a great app with wonderful custom notification settings, and just lets you jump in and message a colleague or two when you need to.

Snapchat

While TikTok continues to take over the world, Snapchat is still one of the best social media apps on mobile today. No, you won't be able to take a conversation to the web or pick things up from anywhere else, but that's kind of the point. Snapchat is supposed to be fun while allowing for the self-deletion of photos. So you can send pictures or videos without being shamed.

Being able to share clips of your day-to-day life with friends and even family is always fun, and Snapchat makes it easy. Throw on one of those goofy filters and brighten your friends' day, or just send them a video message to let them know you're thinking of them. You can also make audio and video calls, just like any other great messaging app for Android.

Security is paramount

How to enable two-factor authentication in WhatsApp for Android. — (Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

Even if all you intend to do on your messaging service is talk to some buddies and maybe plan some jewel heists— I mean surprise parties — you should care about your messaging service being secure and trustworthy. All of the services here support two-factor authentication, and several of them support encryption for messages, including WhatsApp, Signal, and Snapchat.

Self-deleting messages and notifications of when messages are screenshotted or reshared give Snapchat some extra appearance of security. Still, there are ways around those protocols, and Snapchat's had issues of self-deleting photos not getting deleted from their servers before.

On the other hand, the ability to delete specific messages permanently from a group chat is a nice feature on Signal that I wish would come to more services. Still, at least services like WhatsApp have the ability to unsend a message a few minutes after an accidental send is nice.

How many friends can you convince to switch?

The problem with picking a messenger app is that usually, you can't just use one. Some friends will be on Facebook, some will be on Whatsapp, and there are those who prefer the discretion offered by Snapchat. You can try and guide your friends towards one platform or another, but remember that you may need to compromise and pick a platform your friends already use.

There's a good reason why WhatsApp takes the crown for being our favorite. It's very widely used to the point that most of your friends and family may be using it already. You won't have to worry about creating usernames since this works off your phone number, and you can import contacts easily. Then, create group chats or have video calls to stay in contact with everyone.

Perhaps the more common choice will end up being Facebook Messenger as just about everyone and their brother has a Facebook account already. You can have group video calls with up to eight people, use Messenger as your SMS app, and even send money back and forth if need be. Facebook has also made it so you can play some games in the app with your friends to keep up some type of competition to spark some awesome trash talk.

Andrew Myrick is a Senior Editor at Android Central. He enjoys everything to do with technology, including tablets, smartphones, and everything in between. Perhaps his favorite past-time is collecting different headphones, even if they all end up in the same drawer.