Like millions of users around the world, I have been using WhatsApp for years. It is certainly among the best mobile messaging app out there. However, when we published a post about WhatsApp alternatives, I tried many other similar apps. And since then I have been regularly using Viber along with WhatsApp. While using both these apps simultaneously, I realized that WhatsApp is certainly better than Viber.
But why did I go for Viber in the first place? Well, I wanted to test a Viber feature that automatically deletes messages after a specified time has lapsed. WhatsApp is yet to provide such a feature.
WhatsApp vs. Viber: Why is WhatsApp better than Viber?
The biggest problem I found with Viber is that there can be a substantial delay in delivery of messages. In my case, sometimes messages get delivered immediately; whereas sometimes it reaches the destination after several hours. I am saying this while knowing that the recipient’s mobile internet connection was up and working.
Swift delivery of messages should be the most important concern of any messaging app. This is why these apps are called instant messaging apps! Many messages lose their relevance and context if they reach the destination late. So, when Viber did not deliver messages in time, I felt like going back to WhatsApp. Facebook owns WhatsApp — so it does not come as surprise that WhatsApp is more reliable in message delivery. It must be backed by the robust infrastructure of Facebook.
There is another feature in WhatsApp that makes it better than Viber. WhatsApp ticks tell you the exact status of your message: One grey tick means message has reached the WhatsApp server, two grey ticks mean that the message has been delivered on recipient’s mobile and two blue ticks mean that the message has been seen by the recipient. Viber does not provide any such mechanism. It only shows “delivered” (as and when) the message reaches the destination.
On the crucial and most important aspect of reliability, Viber loses big time. But features like automatic message deletion and sticker store makes Viber interesting. WhatsApp has a large number of emojis but stickers of Viber are more expressive, bigger and animated. With Viber stickers, it is easy to send across common messages like good night, how are you? and miss you etc.
Although Viber has some cool features, it’s only a matter of time before WhatsApp may also incorporate many more features to its already very attractive list.
What has been your experience with Viber and WhatsApp? Which one did you find better? Please share your views with us in the comments section. Thank you for using TechWelkin!
Mike Lee says
Apps now There are so many messaging Apps now that often it is hard to pick one to make it the main way of conversation. I think WhatsApp has really taken the lead off late and I like the fact that it gives the exact status of the message through the tick system. Thanks for this comparison and I do believe that for the time being WhatsApp with continue to have the upper-hand unless Viber comes up with something totally new.