7 reasons to avoid WhatsApp on Android and iPhone

WhatsApp is still the most widely used chat app today, but considering all its problems, it's kind of hard to understand why it's so popular. Not only does it offer the same features as other similar apps, it also takes time to receive important updates and is quite limited in general usage. To learn more about it, you can check out our list below, where we talk about the main issues with the app and why you should avoid using WhatsApp on Android and iPhone.

1. Can only use with your phone

To start with, we have one of the biggest user complaints about WhatsApp: the way you create your account. Currently, you can only have an in-app account based on your phone number, which is extremely inconvenient and prevents you from using it on other devices independently.

Basically, you can't use WhatsApp on a non-3G tablet or on your computer if you don't have the app on your phone. This is also a problem when you need to change phone number or when you lose your smartphone. In both of these situations, you may simply lose your account if you do not have a backup stored on your computer or if WhatsApp support cannot help you.

2. Can only be used on one device

Just because you can only sign in to your WhatsApp account with your phone number you won't be able to use the app on two different smartphones.

If you want to use app services elsewhere, you end up depending on the web version or the computer app. The problem is that both depend on the mobile app to be used and activated.

3. Web version is smartphone dependent

As we just mentioned above, the web version depends on the mobile app to work, but in an even more limited way than the computer version.

Not only can it be activated with a simple QR code (which can cause serious security issues), this version only works if your smartphone is powered on or has sufficient battery power.

4. Lack of security

The app may have recently adopted an encryption system, but that doesn't mean WhatsApp is a good example of privacy and security. In fact, all app files can be easily accessed with any file explorer on Android or by connecting your smartphone to a computer.

Other than that, anyone who has access to your device for less than 30 seconds can connect it to WhatsApp Web easily and unknowingly.

5. Backup is not reliable

While backing up your conversations and shared files, it's not so simple to transfer this data from WhatsApp to another smartphone when needed.

In fact, this is a real nightmare for anyone who had an Android and decided to buy an iPhone or vice versa. This is because both types of devices use different systems to store the app backup: iCloud on iPhone and Google Drive on Android.

6. Cannot change messages

After years, WhatsApp developers have finally included a way to delete messages sent in the app, but there is still no way to simply change them. At most, you can delete messages if it was sent less than 7 minutes ago, which is not always ideal.

This is a feature that already exists in applications like Telegram and Skype, so it's hard to understand why WhatsApp still lags behind in this regard. This is especially useful in those cases where the broker spoils your messages in some way.

7. Lack of options for groups

Finally, you need to talk about how WhatsApp groups currently work, as this is still one of the app's worst features. In fact, it's not necessarily the feature itself, but the way it works overall and how users have few options related to it.

Here are some of the worst issues with WhatsApp groups: You can only join groups by direct invitations and cannot request access, they cannot be closed until all members leave, you cannot see the old groups you used to make. For the most part, anyone in the group can be your phone number, and anyone can put you in random groups without permission.

Most of these situations are avoided in apps like Telegram or Slack, so there is no reason for WhatsApp developers not to focus on improvements to how app groups work. For now, there is no indication that the way groups work will change, so the way is to wait for some useful app updates in the future.

What do you think of the reasons for avoiding WhatsApp?

Could you take a look at our list to learn more about why you should avoid using WhatsApp on Android and iPhone? Be sure to leave your comment telling us what you think about the app issues. If you have other reasons not to use the app on your smartphone that you haven't seen on our list, be sure to share them with us below!

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