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Given the fact that most people are spending their time inside their home during the lockdown for COVID-19 pandemic, a new report shows that users’ Screen Time (time spent on their smartphones) has significantly gone up. According to an article published by The Independent smartphone, usage has gone up by more than 200 percent, where most people are spending a lot more time on social media and messaging apps. And given the vast choice of messaging apps available on different app stores, this article is focused on to help you choose the right messaging app that fits your purpose and which messaging apps to delete. Here are the 4 messaging apps that no one should be using anymore in 2020, according to experts:
Snapchat
“Snapchat is a messaging app definitely no one should use anymore in 2020. The core idea behind SnapChat is that messages, photos or videos appear for an amount of time, determined by the sender, before disappearing forever” according to Sarah Petrova, a Software Engineer at Intel & Co-founder of Techtestreport. Petrova continues, “However, the recipient can save images by taking screen grabs. So if you are sending out something with the intention, that the receiver can only see that image for a short amount of time, you might have a bad awakening.”
Petrova concerns, “Although Snapchat notifies you, the sender, when the receiver takes a screenshot of your image or video there are ways to circumvent this alert mechanism. There is an application called SnapHack that circumvents SnapChat’s ephemeral feature altogether, by allowing recipients to simply save ‘snaps’ (that’s what they’re called). Also: nobody knows if the images you send are really gone from the Server's or are still there, which means some embarrassing photos could become public in case of a hack of Snapchat's servers.”
Google Talk & Hangouts
According to Ali Rizvi from Dream Superhero, “It (Google Talk) is a standalone version of Gchat that seemed like it was coded in 15 minutes by someone on their lunch break.” And Rizvi also adds, “It (Hangouts) has been tinkered to death by Google, a bloated version of Gchat that has been shoved down our throats but will always have market share because everyone uses Gmail.”
Suman Saha, Chief Technology Officer at Nosh Technologies, mentions, “Our phones are not just communication devices anymore. It has transformed into a bank, a companion and a window to the world for some. We should no more take security lightly. WeChat last year was implicated of having leaked personal information of more than 300 million users. That’s a big question on my information security. Hence, I personally would absolutely recommend to steer clear of that one.”
Facebook Messenger
Therefore, apart from the aforementioned apps, you should be fine using other messaging apps that are available in the market. However, do keep in mind that if you are using Facebook Messenger then you should be cautious as well. Facebook Messenger is nowadays full of bots and stalkers, and the app on the Android or iOS platforms are known to be detrimental to your smartphone’s battery while running in the background at all times. However, it is quite impossible to believe your life without Facebook (or Messenger) now, especially during the lockdown.
