Comparison

WhatsApp Messenger vs True

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

WhatsApp Messenger

Connect with friends and family globally through private messaging and high-quality calls. Share moments, documents, and stay in touch across devices, even on slow connections. Your conversations are secured with end-to-end encryption.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encrypted messaging
  • High-quality voice and video calls
  • Group chats and calls
  • Cross-device connectivity
  • Status updates
  • Location sharing
Features
Read full description

WhatsApp from Meta is a free messaging and calling app used by over 2 billion people across 180+ countries. It's super simple, reliable and private, making it perfect for staying in touch with your friends and family worldwide. WhatsApp works across mobile, tablet, and desktop even on slow connections, with no subscription fees*. Private messaging and calls across the world Your privacy is our priority. With end-to-end encryption, you can be sure that your personal messages and calls stay between you and who you send them to. And no one, not even WhatsApp, can read or listen to them. Simple and secure connections, right away All you need is your phone number - no usernames or logins needed. Easily view your contacts on WhatsApp and start messaging. And what's more, you can easily link your other devices, including iPads, for seamless connectivity. High quality voice and video calls Enjoy free, secure video and voice calls with up to 32 people for free. Your calls work across devices, even on slower connections, using your phone or tablet’s Internet service. Group chats to keep you in contact Stay close to friends and family through end-to-end encrypted group chats and calls. Share messages, photos, videos and documents across mobile, tablet, and desktop. You can also use call links and screen-sharing to make group calls and collaboration easy. Stay connected in real time You can share your location with those in your individual or group chats while using WhatsApp on your mobile phone. Or record a voice message for those moments when just text isn't good enough. Share daily moments through Status Share your everyday life with those who matter. With Status you can share text, photos, video, and GIF updates that disappear after 24 hours. You're always in control of who sees your status. Just choose who you want to share it with - all your contacts or selected ones. And bring your everyday to life. *Data charges may apply. Contact your provider for details. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have any feedback or questions, please go to WhatsApp > Settings > Help > Contact Us Terms of Service: https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/terms-of-service Learn more about messaging privately: https://www.whatsapp.com/privacy Learn more about WhatsApp safety: https://www.whatsapp.com/security

About

True

This app offers a private social networking experience focused on genuine connections with trusted individuals. It prioritizes user privacy by avoiding targeted advertising and data selling, creating a safe and positive space for sharing.

Highlights
  • Private by default sharing
  • No ads or tracking
  • User data ownership
  • Focus on real friends
  • Safe and positive environment
Features
Read full description

Focused on people you really know, we’re making social a safe, happy place again without targeted advertising. • It’s the quality of relationships, not quantity, that make us happier. We’re building new ways to tell your story and strengthen your community • We don’t spy on you, read your cookies or follow you around the internet. You own your data, forever, and we’ll never sell or share it with anyone It’s time to try an honest solution. We’re thrilled to get you back to things that matter. • Private by default – photos, and updates only with people you trust. • No ads. No tracking. Ever. – we never sell your data. • Real friends, real life – original content from people you actually know, not influencers or brands. • Safe and positive – a drama-free space designed to make social a happy place again. The True Story True was founded in a lovely little mountain town filled with giant redwoods, beautiful valleys and neighbors who look after each other. It’s this real-life Happy Valley that inspired us to build a company that gets back to things that matter. Real friends and real life without commercial interruption. It’s the quality of our relationships, not the quantity, that make us happier. It’s the joy of making new friends and connecting with old ones that strengthen our sense of community. Somehow, in a rush for growth and profit, these feelings have been lost. Social today no longer feels like a Happy Valley, it’s more like we’re all living in a big creepy commercial. Big social companies are in the middle of our relationships. They’re taking our best intentions and selling them to the highest bidder. Well, we’re just not going to do that anymore. Why Should I Trust You Guys? There’s a lot of talk about privacy. Every few weeks, another big company gets caught in a new scandal. But there is never anything really done about it and we go on accepting the problem. The crazy thing is, this is never going to stop. As long as these companies make money by selling our personal information, they will always find ways to collect it. But we never signed up for this. We didn’t post our lives, families and personal relationships for sale. We did not agree to let these companies make money from being in the middle of our friendships. We believe you should be free to share your life without big brands competing for your attention. You should own your information and decide what you want to do with it. 3rd parties should never have access to your data. You should not be the product. We believe your privacy matters. We take it into consideration with every decision we make. You should believe we respect your privacy and trust we’ll do the right thing with your information. What’s Different About It? We just don’t think you can be yourself in a world of perfect pictures awash in a sea of influencers. Old-school social is for blasting your life to people you don’t really know, measured by standards you will never achieve. So we’ve built a new kind of threaded sharing that is private by default. Until now, no one has tried this before. It gives you control over things you want to share and who you want to share them with. By combining beautiful, edge-to-edge storytelling with private messaging, it’s the best of both worlds. What do we all love? Updates from real friends. But original thoughts and stories have gone missing in big social. Sadly, most content today is created by companies with an agenda. We share an endless stream of news and ideas pushed by these companies and no longer share our real lives. So we built a platform that only allows original content. There are no political arguments here. You come to True to see real updates from friends. Content they created themselves, not clickbait designed to hold your attention and manipulate opinion. True lets you… be you. Real sharing from real friends, we’re making social a safe, happy place again.

Screenshots

WhatsApp Messenger4 screens
True4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: WhatsApp Messenger at 4.7 against True's 4.2. WhatsApp Messenger also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (19M vs 9). True's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and ads (none vs shown). On price there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. WhatsApp Messenger sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.00 per month. True asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

WhatsApp Messenger holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WhatsApp Messenger has 19M ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 51% of WhatsApp Messenger's written reviews are positive against 77% of True's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WhatsApp Messenger ships an update every 3 days, True every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and July 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
WhatsApp Messenger versus True: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWhatsApp MessengerTrue
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (19M ratings) — better4.2 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews50.5% of reviews76.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings19M — better9
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#2 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.113.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB102 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperWhatsApp Inc.Hello Mobile Inc.

Customer experience

WhatsApp Messenger

All ratings18,645,986 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral3.0%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews16,421 reviews
Positive50.5%
Neutral8.2%
Negative41.3%

True

All ratings9 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews69 reviews
Positive76.8%
Neutral4.3%
Negative18.8%

Bugs and requests

WhatsApp Messenger

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App freezing and crashing issues
  • Notification problems (missing, delayed)
  • Backup and restore failures
  • Arbitrary account bans with poor support

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Improve group management features
  • Allow more customization of status and notifications
  • Enhance backup and restore functionality
  • Provide better customer support and appeal process

True

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

WhatsApp Messenger

Subscriptions3
  • No ads (1 account)$4.001 Month
  • No ads (4 accounts)5 variants$21.991 Month
  • No ads (5 accounts)4 variants$26.991 Month
None

True

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is WhatsApp Messenger free?
WhatsApp Messenger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is True free?
True is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, WhatsApp Messenger or True?
WhatsApp Messenger is rated higher. WhatsApp Messenger averages 4.7 out of 5 from 19M ratings, while True averages 4.2 from 9 ratings.
Do WhatsApp Messenger or True have ads?
WhatsApp Messenger shows ads; True does not.
Which is updated more often, WhatsApp Messenger or True?
WhatsApp Messenger ships an update every 3 days, and True every 3 weeks. Most recently, WhatsApp Messenger was updated on September 24, 2026 and True on July 18, 2026.

Other comparisons