Owned by Japanese e-retailer Rakuten, Viber is a service that started life as a VoIP app and gradually grew to include things like text messaging, voice calls, group messaging, fully synced desktop and mobile apps, and more. iPhone users can get Duo from the Apple App Store.ĭownload Google Messages: Android (opens in new tab)ĭownload Google Duo: Android (opens in new tab), iOS (opens in new tab) Threema

The good news is that Duo is likely already installed on your Android phone, and if it’s not it’s free to download from Google Play. That’s right: Just as iMessage and FaceTime are still separate for some reason, so are Messages and Duo, although the latter isn't restricted to Android devices.

What Messages doesn’t have is video and voice calling, since that’s all handled by Google Duo. If you can't find it, you can download Google Messages from Google Play.ĭesigned to replace your existing SMS app and integrated with all Google’s services, Google Messages is essentially iMessage, but for Android (and Windows, but not Macs or iOS).Įnd-to-end encryption is automatic when you’re messaging anyone else with Google Messages and you can send all your usual images and files as you would with something like WhatsApp. Google Messages is Google’s answer to iMessage, and it's usually available on modern Android phones right out of the box.

Viber web on welcome to viber screen