Telegram

Developed by Russian brothers - Pavel Durov and Nikolai Durov, Telegram is the first free messaging app that comes to people's mind as the best WhatsApp alternative app for messaging. An estimate of it's popularity can be made from the fact that Telegram was 8th most downloaded app in 2020 with active users crossing over 400 million. Let's explore further how is telegram different than WhatsApp, for which we need to look at the features of Telegram -
Telegram has basic messaging, video calling, file sharing features.
You can send larger files compared to WhatsApp.
It comes with a Secret Chat mode which means your messages are encrypted and can be accessed only between the devices on which the data was shared.
It also has Self Destruct option for messages, where messages expire after a pre-decided period.
You can also share location.
The grandest benefit is that you can use Telegram to download movies and shows too.