What Is the Difference Between WhatsApp and Regular Texting?

WhatsApp and regular texting are two popular ways of communicating with friends and family, but they differ in several important ways. WhatsApp is a messaging platform that is owned by Facebook and allows users to communicate with others in their contacts list. Texting, on the other hand, is more traditional and involves sending individual messages via SMS or MMS from one phone number to another.

Cost

One of the primary differences between WhatsApp and regular texting is cost. Using WhatsApp does not require any fees, as it uses an internet connection for communication.

Regular texting, on the other hand, requires you to pay for each SMS or MMS message sent. This can quickly add up if you are sending a lot of messages or if you don’t have an unlimited texts plan with your mobile carrier.

Platforms

WhatsApp is available on both Android and iOS platforms, while regular texting only works with mobile phones that have cellular service. This means that if you want to send text messages to someone who doesn’t have a smartphone or doesn’t have access to an internet connection, then regular texting is the only option available. On the other hand, if both parties have smartphones and access to the internet, then WhatsApp is a much better choice as it allows users to send messages regardless of their location.

Features

WhatsApp offers several features that are not available when using regular texting. These features include group chats, document sharing, voice calls, video calls, image sharing, GIFs and more. Regular texting does not offer any of these features and so it can feel quite limited compared to using WhatsApp for communication.

Security

Finally, WhatsApp offers better security than regular texting as all messages sent through the app are encrypted end-to-end for extra protection against hackers and third parties who might try to access them. Regular texting does not offer this level of security as all messages sent through SMS or MMS can be intercepted by anyone who has access to the network they are being sent over.

Conclusion

In conclusion, WhatsApp and regular texting differ in terms of cost, platforms supported by them, features offered by each platform as well as security measures employed by each one. Overall, WhatsApp provides a more versatile way of communicating than regular texting but comes at no extra cost whereas sending text messages via SMS or MMS will incur fees depending on your mobile carrier’s plan structure.