# Facebook Messenger Alternative **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 14, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-messenger-alternative/816069 "2018-06-14T03:17:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![molten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ec9cab/32.png) [@molten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/molten)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-messenger-alternative/816069/1 "2018-06-14T03:17:31Z")
FB messenger is slow and creepy. It drains the fuck out of the battery with its incessant spying. Is there a decent open source wrapper / alternative that uses the fb network? ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-messenger-alternative/816069/2 "2018-06-14T11:34:53Z")
Is that the same as what is called “Chat” on my Facebook? Like “video chat” and “voice call”? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-messenger-alternative/816069/3 "2018-06-15T05:00:00Z")
Spying? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-messenger-alternative/816069/4 "2018-06-15T11:23:02Z")
Heh, I use Messenger without any problems. I prefer WhatsApp, though. ---
**Author:** ![LiveFree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@LiveFree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveFree)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-messenger-alternative/816069/5 "2018-06-15T16:12:53Z")
Facebook Messenger drains the hell out of my battery also. Pisses me off. Luckily I don’t use it all that much. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-messenger-alternative/816069/6 "2018-06-15T18:31:55Z")
Signal. It’s secure, and it’s not owned by Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-messenger-alternative/816069/7 "2018-06-15T18:39:18Z")
If you must use Facebook to contact people, delete the Messenger app and go to Facebook via your phone’s browser. Once on Facebook, go to your browser’s option list (mine’s in the upper right corner of my phone screen) and select Request Desktop. Then you can use the Chat/Messaging function sans the Messenger app and all its attendant issues. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-messenger-alternative/816069/8 "2018-06-15T18:50:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Heh, I use Messenger without any problems. I prefer WhatsApp, though. Also owned by Facebook. Which is a company I don’t trust at ALL, which is why I have precisely zero FB apps on my phone. I don’t even use the phone browser to go to FB, that’s for my laptop, which can’t blab my location or take pics of me when I’m not looking. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-messenger-alternative/816069/9 "2018-06-15T19:16:46Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Also owned by Facebook. Which is a company I don’t trust at ALL, which is why I have precisely zero FB apps on my phone. I don’t even use the phone browser to go to FB, that’s for my laptop, which can’t blab my location or take pics of me when I’m not looking. 😉 They may not show the location in your posts from your laptop, but Facebook sees it and sells it. ---
**Author:** ![Allecher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a6a055/32.png) [@Allecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Allecher)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-messenger-alternative/816069/10 "2018-06-15T19:19:14Z")
I use an app called Metal which opens FB and/or twitter in its own browser. My battery life is much better without FB and Messenger!