Mobile Internet now makes it possible to stay in touch with relatives and friends while beating high telephone bills.
This is made possible by top CHATTING APPS that can be downloaded FREE on your smartphone. Using these apps, you can send instant messages or engage in voice and video chat too.
Chatting on most of these apps is free and hence, they are very popular. Some apps charge a small fee for voice and video chat.
Use any of these excellent chatting apps for keeping contact with relatives and friends across the country and even abroad.
Top 10 Free Chatting Apps in India
Remember, using a chatting app requires your mobile phone to be connected with high-speed Internet.
Most run on 2G and 3G networks too. But for best results, use a 4G connection if it is available from your mobile services provider and has coverage in your area. They also work on WiFi.
1. WhatsApp
WhatsApp is India’s most favourite chatting and messaging app.
Over 200 million Women and Men across India use WhatsApp to communicate.
WhatsApp began as an Instant Messenger (IM) that allows people to send text, audio and video messages to other users instantly.
Over the years, WhatsApp now also offers audio and video chatting, much to the chagrin of telecommunications services providers. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook.
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2. Messenger
Messenger and Messenger Lite from Facebook are most popular Chatting apps among users of this social media platform.
India has more than 220 million Facebook users, according to the latest figures revealed by the company in September 2018.
While Facebook has an inbuilt chat mode, Messenger makes it possible to chat with anyone.
This means you can chat with a person on Facebook without adding them as ‘Friend’ to protect privacy.
Facebook Messenger also provides text, audio and video chat. You can host group audio and video chats too.
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3. Skype
Skype from Microsoft is responsible for the widespread popularity of chatting apps in India.
Indeed, it ranks among the pioneers of chatting apps in India.
Skype was among the first chatting apps to be available in this country. Skype provides text chatting, audio and video chatting as well.
It is one of the best apps available for mobiles and computers. In fact, lots of companies conduct online interviews with prospective candidates through Skype.
Over 10.5 million people worldwide use Skype. Group chatting is possible with Skype. It is also possible to make calls to mobile and landline telephones worldwide using Skype.
However, calling landline and mobile phones from Skype is paid service: you need to buy credits online before calling.
4. JioChat
If you are connected to Jio 4G Volte network, this is the best app. JioChat may not be an international brand yet.
However, its features and speed are far superior to many foreign chat apps available nowadays.
JioChat is available for different Indian languages and with Indian smileys too. You can chat audio, video or text with JioChat. This app also allows you to stay in touch with news, movies and sports.
It is the best Indian chatting app and comes from Reliance Industries Ltd. If you are using a Jio mobile connection, it provides High Dynamic (HD) audio and video quality.
JioChat comes as default app when you buy and install a SIM card from this mobile services provider.
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5. Viber
Used by over one billion people worldwide, Viber has everything you would look for in a chatting app.
Viber allows you to send text messages, make audio and video calls.
A great feature of Viber is its capabilities to carry larger audio and video files between users.
This means, you can load HD images and send them through Viber. Further, Viber also has HD sound and video quality that enriches your chatting experience.
Additionally, you can have conference calling and video calling with Viber chat with the highest quality audio and video quality.
Viber is also popular because its performance does not depend upon the speed of the mobile Internet.
6. Hangouts Chat
Hangouts Chat comes from Google. Hangouts Chat is an intelligent and secure communications tool, built for teams.
From direct messages to team chat rooms, Hangouts Chat provides an integrated platform that makes team communication easy and efficient, says Google in its description of this app.
It is currently available to G Suite users only. Hangouts Chat enables group messaging that allows G Suite content sharing (Docs, Sheets, Slides), without having to worry about granting permission, says Google.
7. WeChat
WeChat is a messaging and calling app that is fairly popular in India. It allows you to communicate with text such as SMS and MMS, voice and video calls.
Additionally, you can also share pictures, live video and games with your loved ones with this app.
WeChat is ideal if you are frequently travelling to areas where 4G connectivity may not be available.
WeChat works very well on 2G and 3G networks too. WeChat continues to be popular in India for its high quality audio and video even when the mobile network is slow.
8. Telegram
If you are looking for a very reliable and fast chatting app, go for Telegram.
It allows you to create really large groups for chatting too- with as many as 100,000 persons across the world or in your own location.
Telegram allows sharing large videos, documents of any type (.DOC, .MP3, .ZIP, etc.) and sets up bots for specific tasks.
It’s the perfect tool for hosting online communities and coordinating teamwork. Telegram delivers your messages in the minimum bytes possible, Telegram is the most reliable messaging system ever made.
It works even on the weakest mobile connections, says its developers.
9. Hike
Hike claims to have over 100 million users in India itself.
Hike is not merely an ordinary chat app. It is available in 40 different languages.
It comes loaded with features including over 20,000 stickers, a camera mode that will help you look fresh and good even if you appear like a ragdoll or lack glamour.
It provides news, live cricket scores, stock market updates and lots more to users.
The Polls section allows you to find the best spot to enjoy a meal or shop for something because it carries ratings of every place given by independent Hike users.
10. Line
Line allows you to chat with up to 200 people simultaneously.
Additionally, this excellent chatting app comes loaded with several much desirable features.
The Poll feature helps you decide the best location to hangout or dine with relatives and friends. Line also provides news and sports updates.
You can enjoy free audio and video chatting through Line provided this feature is supported by your smartphone and mobile network.
Also read: 12 Best daily free News Apps in India to Stay Informned
Wrap-Up
These top 10 chatting apps in India will help you stay connected round the clock with relatives and friends, regardless of their location.
Remember, audio and video quality may differ because it depends on the quality of your handset and the mobile network speed.
While chatting apps are fun, they are being misused by certain anti-national elements to foment disharmony and spread rumours and fear among Indians.
Hence, Indian law enforcement agencies are exerting extra efforts to ensure you do not fall victim to such false information.
Remember, spreading panic, rumours or anything that can disrupt peace and harmony over chatting apps is a criminal offence in India under the country’s cyber laws.