European Messaging & chat Alternatives

8 independently selected Messaging & chat providers, European-owned, GDPR-compliant, ranked by EuroPoints.

Show:

Carefully selected European alternatives, some links may earn us a small commission.

#1

Olvid

100 · Certified European

France EU

French end-to-end encrypted messenger certified by ANSSI, the French national cybersecurity agency. Unlike Signal, requires no phone number or personal data to register. Used by the French government, recommended by French Prime Minister for ministerial communications.

Replaces: Imessage , Whatsapp , Signal , Telegram , Messenger , Wechat

#2

Threema

95 · Certified European

Switzerland EFTA

Swiss encrypted messaging app requiring no phone number or email to register. End-to-end encrypted messages, calls, and groups. One-time purchase of CHF 4.99, with no subscription, no ads, and no data mining. Used by Swiss government and military.

Replaces: Imessage , Whatsapp , Signal , Telegram , Messenger , Wechat

#3

SimpleX Chat

90 · Certified European

United Kingdom Europe

A UK-built messenger that is the first with no user identifiers of any kind - no phone number, no username, not even a random ID. End-to-end encrypted, fully open source, and decentralised across relay servers, making it one of the most metadata-resistant chat apps available.

Replaces: Whatsapp , Telegram , Signal , Wechat

#4

Wire

82 · Strongly European

Switzerland EFTA

Swiss end-to-end encrypted messaging and collaboration platform for enterprise and government use. Backed by Schwarz Group (Lidl/Kaufland), hosted in the EU, and used by security-conscious organisations across Europe.

Replaces: Imessage , Slack , Microsoft Teams , Whatsapp , Wechat , Dingtalk

#5

Element

75 · Strongly European

United Kingdom Europe

European secure communications platform built on the open Matrix protocol. Used by NATO, the EU, French and German governments, and 47M+ users across 80,000+ deployments. Self-hostable with full end-to-end encryption.

Replaces: Imessage , Slack , Microsoft Teams , Discord , Whatsapp , Wechat , Dingtalk

#6

Session

62 · Mostly European

Switzerland EFTA

An encrypted messenger that needs no phone number or email - you get a random Session ID instead. Messages are onion-routed through a decentralised network of nodes, and the project moved its legal home to Switzerland in 2024 for stronger privacy protection.

Replaces: Whatsapp , Telegram , Signal , Wechat

#7

Briar

55 · Mixed Origins

United Kingdom Europe

A peer-to-peer encrypted messenger designed for activists, journalists, and anyone who needs resilient communication. Messages sync directly between devices over Tor, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth - with no central servers - built by a European non-profit with EU public funding.

Replaces: Whatsapp , Telegram , Signal , Wechat

#8

Signal

44 · Not Very European

United States

The gold standard for encrypted messaging. Open-source and non-profit.

Replaces: Imessage , Whatsapp , Telegram , Messenger , Wechat