It was a strange day when text messages took over phone calls as the primary way to communicate with personal contacts. For those of us without unlimited texting plans, it can be a pain to keep up with friends and family. Need a free way to send messages with your phone? Check out these apps.
Facebook Messenger
Not so long ago, we compared Facebook Messenger with Google Hangouts, looking to determine which of the two reigns supreme. Facebook came out on top (not unlike the actual social networks themselves), beating out Google in every way except in quality of audio/video calls. Today, Facebook Messenger remains a strong contender in the messaging arena.
What’s good?
The best “feature” of Facebook is its massive userbase. Even if the recipient doesn’t use Facebook Messenger itself, you can still send free messages to them. You can also make calls for free to other Messenger users over WiFi and data (though data charges still apply). The Chat Heads feature, which causes messages to pop up even when you’re using another app, allows you to continue conversations no matter what you’re doing.
What’s not?
No capability for video calling, which could be a huge bummer for those of you who want something similar to Apple’s FaceTime. Not being integrated with the official Facebook app is a bit of an annoyance. In fact, the app being associated with Facebook (not the most privacy-sensitive company out there) is probably this app’s greatest drawback. Requires a Facebook account to log in.
Path Talk
Path Talk is one of the newer messengers to hit the scene, but already it’s making a big splash throughout the community. It claims to be good enough to replace the need for SMS and Facebook altogether, but does it have enough features to back up that claim?
What’s good?
Messaging is free. Path Talk can keep your friends updated on your status, such as whether you’re in transit or low on battery. The interface is familiar and sleek, which is important for day-to-day comfort and ease of use. In addition to text messages, you can send simple voice messages.
But most importantly, Path Talk cares about your privacy. Every message sent with Path Talk is stored on their servers for a maximum of 24 hours before they’re automatically deleted. Worried about text messages being logged? Here’s one answer to that.
What’s not?
Path actually started out as a social network and Talk was its communication feature. Path Talk is the result of Path splitting their Talk functionality away from the social network and putting it out there on its own. For Path users, this is an unnecessary redundancy. Requires a Path account to log in.
Read more
Facebook Messenger
Not so long ago, we compared Facebook Messenger with Google Hangouts, looking to determine which of the two reigns supreme. Facebook came out on top (not unlike the actual social networks themselves), beating out Google in every way except in quality of audio/video calls. Today, Facebook Messenger remains a strong contender in the messaging arena.
What’s good?
The best “feature” of Facebook is its massive userbase. Even if the recipient doesn’t use Facebook Messenger itself, you can still send free messages to them. You can also make calls for free to other Messenger users over WiFi and data (though data charges still apply). The Chat Heads feature, which causes messages to pop up even when you’re using another app, allows you to continue conversations no matter what you’re doing.
What’s not?
No capability for video calling, which could be a huge bummer for those of you who want something similar to Apple’s FaceTime. Not being integrated with the official Facebook app is a bit of an annoyance. In fact, the app being associated with Facebook (not the most privacy-sensitive company out there) is probably this app’s greatest drawback. Requires a Facebook account to log in.
Path Talk
Path Talk is one of the newer messengers to hit the scene, but already it’s making a big splash throughout the community. It claims to be good enough to replace the need for SMS and Facebook altogether, but does it have enough features to back up that claim?
What’s good?
Messaging is free. Path Talk can keep your friends updated on your status, such as whether you’re in transit or low on battery. The interface is familiar and sleek, which is important for day-to-day comfort and ease of use. In addition to text messages, you can send simple voice messages.
But most importantly, Path Talk cares about your privacy. Every message sent with Path Talk is stored on their servers for a maximum of 24 hours before they’re automatically deleted. Worried about text messages being logged? Here’s one answer to that.
What’s not?
Path actually started out as a social network and Talk was its communication feature. Path Talk is the result of Path splitting their Talk functionality away from the social network and putting it out there on its own. For Path users, this is an unnecessary redundancy. Requires a Path account to log in.
Read more