Comparison

Messenger vs DatChat

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

Head to head
About

Messenger

Connect with friends and family through text, audio, and video calls. Share photos, videos, and large files, and express yourself with custom themes and animated content. Features an AI assistant for help and support.

Highlights
  • Text, audio, and video calls
  • High-definition photo sharing
  • Shared photo albums
  • QR code connections
  • Large file sharing (up to 100MB)
  • Edit and unsend messages
  • Disappearing messages
  • AI assistant
Features
Read full description

Messenger is a free messaging app that helps you connect with anyone, anywhere. Stay in touch with your friends and family, explore your interests with people like you, build your community, and share your vibe beyond words, all in one app. CHAT AND CALL ANYONE, ANYWHERE
 Find and connect with your friends and family on Facebook and Messenger, no phone number needed. GET INSTANT ANSWERS FROM YOUR AI ASSISTANT* Meta AI is your assistant that can answer any questions, give you advice, help with homework, and more. SEND YOUR PHOTOS IN HIGH DEFINITION Send and receive clearer, crisper picture of your favorite moments with Messenger. CREATE SHARED ALBUMS From a recent summer vacation to your grandma’s 80th birthday, create albums of photos and videos to share, organize and reminisce over important moments in your group chats. EASILY ADD NEW CONNECTIONS WITH QR CODES Connect with people you meet in real life by scanning their Messenger QR code or sharing yours via a link. SHARE LARGE FILES DIRECTLY IN CHAT Whether it’s a Word, PDF, or Excel doc, you can send large files up to 100MB right inside of Messenger. EDIT AND UNSEND MESSAGES Hit send too soon? You can edit the message up to 15 minutes after sending DISAPPEARING MESSAGES Some things aren’t meant to last forever. Choose how long your end-to-end encrypted chats stick around after they’ve been read. COME TOGETHER WITH YOUR COMMUNITIES Meaningfully connect with people like you from your school, neighborhood, and interest groups. GET IN YOUR FAVORITE CREATORS’ INNER CIRCLE Stay in the know with creators by joining their broadcast channels for authentic and casual content. UNLEASH YOUR IMAGINATION W/ META AI* Tap into your go-to creative partner to create, edit, animate images and more. CAPTURE EVERYDAY MOMENTS ON STORIES Highlight moments of your day using photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours in Stories. DROP A NOTE WITH YOUR THOUGHTS Stay connected with your friends by sharing quick updates that disappear after 24 hours. BRING YOUR VIBE TO YOUR CHATS Sometimes words just don’t cut it. Tap into more ways to express yourself with animated stickers, GIFs, reactions and more. SET THE MOOD OF YOUR CHAT WITH THEMES Customize your chat with a large and constantly evolving list of themes featuring popular artists, holidays, and more. *Meta AI is available in select languages and countries only, with more coming soon.

About

DatChat

This app offers a private social network and messenger with self-destructing, screenshot-protected, and end-to-end encrypted posts and messages. Users can control messages even after sending, create private social groups, and secure photos with advanced encryption.

Highlights
  • Self-destructing messages and posts
  • Screenshot protection with notifications
  • End-to-end encrypted communication
  • Nuke conversations to erase both sides
  • Private social groups
  • Multiple accounts
  • Encrypted hidden photo storage
Features
Read full description

DatChat is a private social networking app and messenger that protects your privacy with self-destructing, screenshot protected, encrypted posts and messages. Get the security you deserve. Keep your messages and social posts private, secure, and out of the wrong hands. Our proprietary anti-screenshot protection makes it nearly impossible for others to screenshot messages, posts, or comments - and you will receive a notification that they even tried. Every message you send has an end-to-end encrypted connection. Control over messages doesn’t stop after you hit send - now you have control even after they are sent. “Nuke” conversations on both the sender and recipient’s devices to protect your privacy. You can also unsend messages with ease. Messages will vanish without trace when they reach view limits or are manually destructed. Using DatChat is like having your own private social network. Create Social Groups where only you and the friends you invite to the group can post, comment, and like. Have as many accounts as you like, with whatever friends and family you want. Secure, private messages and pictures are only visible when logged into that respective account. Only your profile picture is available for anyone to view on DatChat. All other photos and information are in a private camera roll, hidden and encrypted behind other pictures. Never worry about picture security again. Download DatChat today and enjoy free, private, and secure social networking. DATCHAT FEATURES: Free, Secure Messaging: - Private messenger protects your privacy - Propriety anti-screenshot protection makes it nearly impossible to screenshot a message, post, or comment - Receive notifications when someone attempts to screenshot messages, photos, or videos - Only the sender & intended recipients can view messages - they cannot be forwarded to others - Every message has an end-to-end encrypted connection Post-Send Control: - Control what happens to messages even after you send them - Self-destructing messages & posts protect your privacy - “Nuke” messages & completely eradicate both sides of a conversation, comments, and more - Messages & posts vanish without a trace when they reach a view limit or are manually destructed Secure Social Networking: - Create Social Groups where only you & your invited friends can post, comment, and like - Group & individual conversations available - Multiple accounts for different friends: messages are visible when logged into that respective account Picture Privacy: - Only the cover photo can be seen in plain sight - Senders can hide pictures and information on the camera roll, hidden & encrypted behind other pictures Download DatChat now to start sending secure, private messages. __ We now offer DatChat Pro at three membership tiers: - Monthly: $0.99, renews every month - Yearly: $9.99, renews annually - Lifetime: $24.99, one-time purchase good for the life of your account DatChat Pro is an optional subscription service that unlocks new features and removes existing limitations. Subscriptions are offered on a monthly, yearly, and lifetime basis. Monthly subscriptions will renew every month for $0.99. Yearly subscriptions will renew annually for $9.99. A lifetime subscription is a one-time payment of $24.99 that does not renew and will upgrade your status to Pro for the lifetime of your account. Prices may vary by location. Any portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. Subscriptions are charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Manage your subscription in Account Settings after purchase. Monthly and Yearly subscriptions must be canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period to prevent an auto-renewal. Once purchased, refunds will not be given for any unused portion of the term. Terms of Service: http://www.datchat.net/terms Privacy Policy: http://www.datchat.net/privacy

Screenshots

Messenger4 screens
DatChat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: DatChat at none against Messenger's shown. DatChat also leads on review sentiment (91% vs 66%). Messenger's advantage is ratings volume (14M vs 944) and chart position (#8 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. Messenger sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and DatChat sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Messenger against 4.8 for DatChat. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Messenger has 14M ratings behind it against 944, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 66% of Messenger's written reviews are positive against 91% of DatChat's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Messenger ships an update weekly, DatChat every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Messenger versus DatChat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMessengerDatChat
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (14M ratings)4.8 (944 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.2% of reviews90.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14M — better944
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#8 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.114.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size255 MB53 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperMeta Platforms, Inc.Myseum, Inc.

Customer experience

Messenger

All ratings13,628,351 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews12,366 reviews
Positive66.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative28.2%

DatChat

All ratings944 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral0.3%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews129 reviews
Positive90.7%
Neutral0.8%
Negative8.5%

User reviews

Messenger

From 14M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📱 Useful for staying connected with friends and family
  • 🗣️ Enables easy communication through text, voice, and video
  • 💬 Convenient group chat features
  • 🌐 Works across multiple devices and platforms

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Privacy and security concerns
  • 🔄 Unnecessary updates that remove useful features
  • 📤 Issues with message delivery and notifications
  • 🗂️ Cluttered interface and poor organization of chats

DatChat

From 944 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🔒 Privacy and security
  • 🚀 Innovative features
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Blockchain technology
  • 🔒 Anti-screenshot protection

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔧 Needs more feature development
  • 👎 Dated UI design
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding recent messages

Bugs and requests

Messenger

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Unable to log in or access account
  • Messages failing to send or receive
  • Unexpected app crashes and freezes
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add option to delete or unsend messages
  • Improve search functionality for chat history
  • Introduce customizable notification settings
  • Bring back old features like emoji reactions and location sharing

DatChat

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Inconsistent message delivery
  • Notifications not always working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Video chat functionality
  • Ability to like/react to messages
  • Improved message search and sorting
  • Customizable notification settings
  • Integration with other platforms

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Messenger

One-time10
  • Avatar Item$0.99
  • Avatar Item$1.99
  • Avatar Item$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Avatar Item$3.99
  • Avatar Item$4.99
  • Avatar Item$6.99
  • Avatar Item$7.99
  • Avatar Item$8.99
  • Avatar Item$9.99
  • Avatar Item$10.99
4 purchases

DatChat

Subscriptions2
  • Pro (Monthly)$0.991 Month
  • Pro (Yearly)$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • Remain Anonymous$1.99
  • DatChat Pro Lifetime$24.99

Questions

Is Messenger free?
Messenger is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DatChat free?
DatChat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Messenger or DatChat?
DatChat is rated higher. Messenger averages 4.7 out of 5 from 14M ratings, while DatChat averages 4.8 from 944 ratings.
Do Messenger or DatChat have ads?
Messenger shows ads; DatChat does not.
Which is updated more often, Messenger or DatChat?
Messenger ships an update weekly, and DatChat every 9 days. Most recently, Messenger was updated on September 24, 2026 and DatChat on September 21, 2026.

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