It seems Facebook is no longer the fashionable social media platform that we all know. With the #DeleteFacebook movement, it’s evident that users are no longer finding the Zuckerberg’s invention cool anymore.
Also, Facebook is becoming increasingly restricted. In countries like China, it is impossible to access the social media platform without cutting corners. Cutting corners here could mean spending some bucks. Yes, if you want Facebook in China, use a VPN. Furthermore, VPNs are no free!
If the recent numbers are anything to go by, Facebook’s audience isn’t waxing stronger, and it should. Instead of seeing significant increases in Facebook users, users are deserting the platform and governments are banning it altogether.
Tired of cutting corners to access Facebook? Here are some social media apps which can serve as a credible alternative to Facebook.
These social media apps and sites are the reason why your kids might have difficulty knowing what Facebook was, during their time.
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Alternative Social Media Apps and Sites to Facebook
Facebook is a multi-purpose social media platform. It can serve as an instant texting app, which you can use to message your friends. The reason behind the degradation of Facebook Messenger and messages is the questionable security protocol.
Also, it also allows you to connect with friends and share messages called “Posts” on either your “Profile” or a group. You can also share a post on a friend’s profile.
Apart from that, it has many other features like Facebook Watch, Facebook Stories, and the recently announced Facebook Dating. These features are cool nonetheless, but we still have a burning desire to leave Facebook.
However, not every Facebook alternative will be equipped with all of these features. The alternative you choose depends on the reason why you want to delete Facebook.
Is the Messenger experience bad?
Or you just hate the interface on your mobile?
Or you want a more customizable stylish design and not getting stuck to one damn blue interface.
This is a great determiner of the social media platform you should switch to. For the purpose of ease, I’ll split this quite lengthy article into categories so you can easily jump to whatever categories you need, based on your needs.
Here you go.
Messaging Apps and Sites
If the old school messages interface is what you hate, then I have these for you. Here are the newest technology texting or messaging apps you should use, instead of the not-so-secure Facebook that you previously use.
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WhatsApp
Though WhatsApp is still owned by Facebook, we can’t deny the fact that it is a really cool messaging app. Maybe because it wasn’t created by Mark’s team, they acquired it.
WhatsApp Messenger lets you send texts, GIFs, stickers, photos, and even videos to your phone contacts who also use WhatsApp.
How cool? Just like an alternative to SMS.
WhatsApp is overtaking Facebook and its messenger in the number of registered users, which is a great proof that the app works well. At least, 2 billion people can’t be all wrong.
It’s also possible to create groups on WhatsApp, where up to 256 people can send messages which can be viewed by everyone in the group chat.
WhatsApp calling is what I love most about this app. It allows you to call anyone on WhatsApp instantly without your telecom operator charging the normal fees. All you’ve gotten to lose in a WhatsApp call is some of your data, which is a usually negligible amount.
WhatsApp status is also a WhatsApp feature that allows you to share a piece of text, picture or video that is visible by your contacts for 24 hours. Videos shared with WhatsApp Status cannot be longer than 30 seconds, or it’s trimmed down to the first 30 seconds.
WhatsApp is surely a great instant messaging platform and an encrypted alternative to Facebook Messenger, but it’s not for users under the age of sixteen.
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GroupMe
GroupMe is an alternative to Facebook if all you want to share is messages. Just like WhatsApp, it allows you to share stickers, photos, videos and text amongst users.
GroupMe also supports creating groups for similar purposes to WhatsApp. Like a WhatsApp group, you can also share varieties of media content on GroupMe groups, including calendar links.
GroupMe is totally free, and you can use it for hours and days if you like, without dropping your phone. This poses a problem for some users, who experience some withdrawal symptoms when they’re off the app for some time.
Also, on the bad side, it can be unsafe for parents to allow their young teenagers to use GroupMe as some of the stickers might contain adult content, some of which might relate to sex and drinking.
GroupMe is really great, but without parental supervision and control might be problematic for teens.
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Photos and Videos Sharing Apps and Sites
Remember, Facebook allows you to share photos and videos and videos on your timeline and that of others. To completely state that this article gives you alternative social media sites to Facebook, we have to cover this aspect too.
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Instagram
We can’t deny the fact that this is also a Facebook creation, but it is just too dazzling to be ignored.
The most striking feature of Instagram is its interface. Instagram has a beautiful interface with smooth scrolling and videos that play automatically. These create a cool experience as you see what your friends are up to, in a visual way.
Lest I forget, you cannot share ordinary text on Instagram, it has to be accompanied by a photo or short video. This makes the overall look interesting, because in the fight for like, almost nobody posts low-quality videos and pictures.
However, like all Facebook creations, this medium is not so security-conscious and privacy-oriented. It borrows many features from Facebook we all know, and I term it: “Facebook Rebranded”.
In spite of the numerous advantages, Instagram is not without any disadvantages.
There is a battle for likes that goes unabated on Instagram, where users, mostly teens try as hard as they can to get more likes on their videos and pictures. To achieve this, they sacrifice a lot. Some go as extreme as going nude on a live video, just for more exposure.
Also, privacy on Instagram is almost a dream as all the settings are set to public by default. This means, a great deal of all you post onto Instagram can be viewed by anyone, even your enemies, unless you find the privacy settings, and set them all to private.
Instagram is working hard to curb all the disadvantages as they announced that like counts might be disabled in the future, to prevent the battle for likes.
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TikTok – Real Short Videos
The name says it all. Tik Tok is an app for sharing short videos. All videos you can find on the app are short videos, and they’re mainly videos of teenagers singing along a popular song, while it played in the background. Although, there are some other videos that don’t follow that format.
Sometimes, young musicians use this medium to publicize some parts of their song. So far, it has been a largely successful alternative to Facebook Watch.
However, Tik Tok still faces most of the problems that such social media platforms face; craving for followership. Like Instagram, Tik Tok also has issues of young adults doing anything on their videos for more followers.
Also, for followership, creators ignore privacy and make all their posts public. This exposes them to hackers and may cause problems such as cyberbullying, etc.
Also, as this videos sharing platform supports comments, some unscrupulous users leave inappropriate comments on videos, some of which might be sexually suggestive.
Therefore, parents should pay attention to their kids if they’re using this app.
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Dating Apps
Facebook Dating introduced a new revolution to Facebook. It made Facebook a dating site. So, to make a complete article about Facebook alternatives, we must also consider adding some dating apps and sites. Here are some.
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MeetMe: Chat and Meet New People
MeetMe may not be camouflaged as a dating app, but humans have got brains. Why else would you meet me?
MeetMe is a chatting app that allows you to find and chat with people who you might not have met before. The “Match” feature of the app is for users to find new users whom they secretly admire. The app has such a large user base which translates to the availability of users to always chat and flirt with.
However, there seems to be a low privacy protection rate here, as the app requires lots of information about you to get you registered. It also seeks permission to use your location in order to pair you with the nearest users, anywhere you are.
Another big problem with MeetMe is the openness of the platform. Users can contact and chat with anyone their heart desires, you can even type in a random search, choose one of the results and start a chat, increasing risks of cyberbullying and online exploitation.
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Omegle
Omegle is a site where two total strangers can connect together to chat. Omegle chats can either be in text or video format. Chatting on Omegle can be very interesting as both parties in the chat are totally anonymous.
You can add your interests in the interest box to filter out the users you get paired with. It is highly recommended to use the interest box while chatting on Omegle because it is filled with a lot of users you might find annoying. Some may not even be speakers of your desired language.
There’s no registration required when signing to Omegle chat, just open the website address or the app and get started. You quickly get paired with someone (using no special algorithms or whatsoever), and you start your chat.
Some Omegle users are on the lookout for users interested in having a sex chat. So, it is recommended to stay away from the video chatting sections. Also, kids should stay away from the website and you should try as hard as possible not to click any links. Omegle is filled with users sharing links to live porn sites.
Another disadvantage of Omegle is the issue of automated bots. Since there’s no registration or anything to bypass, robots can also gain access to the site and send generated messages to lots of users.
Final Words
Facebook has been around for 15 years, at least. Abruptly, sending it away will be quite a difficult thing to do. But if you’re so passionate about #DeleteFacebook, there are surely some apps and websites that will help you feel nothing.
With WhatsApp to replicate the messages, Instagram to replicate the NewsFeed, and Omegle for hooking up with strangers, switching away from Facebook will be a totally hitch-free experience.
