WhatsApp and Signal have some common features, check them out

WhatsApp and Signal have more in common than you think. To start with, Brian Acton, who was the co-founder of WhatsApp but left the platform after it was sold to Facebook, is also the owner of Signal app. With WhatsApp’s new terms of service set to go into place on February 8, 2021, people are switching to alternatives like Signal. The new terms of service require users to comply with updates that allows WhatsApp to process user data. It also involves how businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage WhatsApp chats.

Apart from the new Terms of Service, users are showing confidence in the new messenger app as an alternative because business magnate and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, American whistleblower Edward Snowden and Jack Dorsey recommend it. Indian tech giants are also urging users to move to Signal.

However, all the above-stated reasons would not count as much if Signal had an unfamiliar UI or was difficult to use. Many features are common to both WhatsApp and Signal, and now Signal has announced that it will introduce chat wallpapers, About field for Signal profiles, animated stickers, media auto-download settings and full-screen profile photos for iOS users, all of which are already present in WhatsApp. It will also support eight members on WhatsApp group video calls.

Following features are also common to both the apps:

Dark mode: Both WhatsApp and Signal give users the option to switch their themes to dark mode.

Disappearing messages: WhatsApp introduced disappearing messages in late 2020. The feature enables users to send a message that will stay in the app only for a short period. Signal too has this feature and lets users set a window from 5 seconds to 1 week on the platform for messages to disappear.

Group invitations through link sharing: Signal recently shared a guide informing how to move members from any messenger app to Signal. The app supports 150 members as of now. WhatsApp also has group support through link sharing and allows up to 256 members.

Encrypted calls: Signal allows users to make encrypted audio and video calls and so does WhatsApp. Signal has now announced that it will support up to eight members on its video calls.

Desktop support: WhatsApp has its famous WhatsApp Web in place that people use through QR codes. Signal, too, gives users the option to use the Web app that is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux.

Chat locks: Another feature that came on Signal way before it became popular on WhatsApp was the biometric lock setup on personal chats. You can choose to lock any chat and hide notifications from that chat, too, for however long you please.

Pin and archive chats: Other common features that both apps have are the pin, unpin and archive chats to give priority to certain chats. The pin chats option lets users keep important chats on top whereas archive chats let users hide chats that are not so important.

Mentioning people in groups: Users can also mention people in groups on both Signal and WhatsApp to send the user a notification.

Media sharing: Both Signal and WhatsApp allow users to send media to multiple contacts at the same time in separate chats. Audio notes, voice and video calls and stickers are common features that can be shared on both platforms.