Looking for a WhatsApp alternative without Meta?
Messaging that doesn't share your metadata with an ad-tech parent company.
OpenChat is a private messaging app on the Internet Computer. Unlike WhatsApp, it's not owned by Meta and doesn't share your contact graph or metadata with an advertising company. Sign in with a passkey — no phone number required.
Why switch from WhatsApp?
- Not owned by Meta, and no advertising business to feed
- Sign in with a passkey, not a phone number
- Group chat, channels, DMs — covers the WhatsApp use cases
- Community-governed, not corporate-controlled
Our pick
OpenChat by OpenChat DAO — Group messaging that runs on infrastructure, not someone's server. Launch
Frequently asked questions
- Is OpenChat as easy to use as WhatsApp?
- It's similarly simple — open the app, sign in with a passkey, find or join a group. The main difference is no phone number required.
- Can my contacts find me without my phone number?
- You share your username or a direct link with people you want to chat with — no phone-book auto-discovery, which is part of the privacy story.
- Are messages end-to-end encrypted?
- No, and this is the honest place to say WhatsApp is ahead: WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted by default and OpenChat is not. OpenChat messages are encrypted in transit and stored on the Internet Computer, so no single company database holds them, but that is a different guarantee rather than a stronger one. If end-to-end encryption is your requirement, stay on WhatsApp or use a dedicated app. Capsl (also in the privacy collection) adds time-locked end-to-end encrypted messaging.
- Will WhatsApp's network effect ever be broken?
- Hard to say — but each person who adopts a privacy-respecting alternative is a tiny step away from the WhatsApp lock-in. Use both during the transition.
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