European Alternatives to WhatsApp

Looking for a European alternative to WhatsApp? Owned by Meta/Facebook, WhatsApp shares data with its parent company and stores metadata on US servers despite end-to-end encryption.

European messaging apps offer true privacy with no data sharing, minimal metadata collection, and servers in Europe.

Written by Daniel Brandt Edited by Marta Kowalczyk Fact-checked by Ingrid Halvorsen

Published Last reviewed How we review

4 Alternatives
100% GDPR Compliant

4 European Alternatives to WhatsApp

Threema

No phone number required, Swiss-hosted messaging

9.0
Switzerland
Learn more Visit website

Wire

End-to-end encrypted messaging and calls

8.8
Switzerland
Learn more Visit website

Element

Decentralized messaging based on Matrix protocol

8.7
United Kingdom
Learn more Visit website

Briar

Peer-to-peer messaging that works without internet

8.5
Open Source
Learn more Visit website

Frequently Asked Questions

Threema is widely considered the best European alternative to WhatsApp. Based in Switzerland, it offers no phone number required, swiss-hosted messaging. Other excellent options include Wire and Element.

Yes, all European alternatives listed on this page are fully GDPR compliant. They process and store data within the European Union, following strict privacy regulations that protect your personal information.

European alternatives offer better data privacy under GDPR, data stored exclusively in EU data centers, no exposure to US surveillance laws like the CLOUD Act, and support for European digital sovereignty. They're ideal for businesses handling sensitive data and privacy-conscious individuals.

Who worked on this review

Three people touch every comparison page: one writes it, a second edits it, and a third checks the compliance and pricing claims against the vendor's own documentation.

Daniel Brandt
Written by

Daniel Brandt

Privacy & Compliance Researcher · Berlin, Germany

Checks the compliance claims: where the company is established, where the data sits, and what the DPA actually says.

Marta Kowalczyk
Edited by

Marta Kowalczyk

Senior Analyst, Infrastructure & Developer Tools · Warsaw, Poland

Covers hosting, developer tooling and the practical side of moving workloads to European providers.

Ingrid Halvorsen
Fact-checked by

Ingrid Halvorsen

Managing Editor · Oslo, Norway

Runs the review process and decides when a page is ready to publish or needs another pass.

Read our editorial process for how we source, verify and update these pages — and how we keep affiliate income separate from what we recommend.

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