Statim vs WhatsApp
WhatsApp encrypts personal chats and calls with the Signal Protocol, and it is the app many of your contacts already use. It also needs a phone number, belongs to Meta, and shares information with other Meta companies. Statim cannot talk to WhatsApp directly; a WhatsApp bridge on a Matrix server you run brings those chats into Statim.
At a glance
| Feature | Statim | |
|---|---|---|
| Sign up with | Nothing | Phone number |
| Encrypted by default | On XMTP, Nostr and Status | Yes |
| Open source | Yes, MIT | No |
| Your own server | Nostr, Status, Matrix | No |
| Wallet | Yes, off by default | In some countries |
| Calls | No | Yes, group |
What WhatsApp protects, and what it keeps
Message content is end-to-end encrypted, and WhatsApp says it cannot hand it to governments. Its privacy policy lists what it does collect: your phone number, your address book if you upload it, usage and log data, device and connection data including your IP address, and your last seen. It shares information with other Meta companies, and is adding ads to the Updates tab.
Statim's developer receives two anonymous numbers: how long the app took to start, and how many devices run each version. Each protocol's own nodes or servers see what that protocol exposes, and every chat tells you what that is.
A phone number, or not
A WhatsApp account is a phone number, and the phone stays the main device. Computers and tablets join as linked devices, up to four, and log out if the phone goes unused for too long.
A Statim account is twelve words. The same account runs on a phone and a computer at the same time, with neither one in charge.
Getting WhatsApp chats into Statim
Statim has no WhatsApp code, and WhatsApp bans unofficial apps. Statim uses a Matrix bridge instead: mautrix-whatsapp links to your WhatsApp account as a device, the way WhatsApp Web does, and your WhatsApp chats show up as Matrix chats. Statim's desktop app can run it on your computer, on a Mac with Apple silicon or on Linux, or you run it next to your own homeserver.
WhatsApp sees the bridge as one of your linked devices. The bridge decrypts your messages on the machine where it runs and only works while that machine is on, so WhatsApp's encryption ends there.
In the EU, WhatsApp also opens 1:1 chats to two outside apps, BirdyChat and Haiket, which must offer the same level of encryption. Statim is not one of them.
Calls, groups and the rest
WhatsApp has voice and video calls, groups of up to 1,024 members, Communities and Channels. Statim has no calls, and what its groups can do depends on the protocol. It does have a self-custody wallet and a command line, which WhatsApp does not.
Which one to pick
Pick Statim if
- You do not want your messenger tied to a phone number or to Meta.
- You want WhatsApp chats next to Telegram, Matrix and encrypted ones, through a bridge you run.
- You want an app whose source you can read.
- You want a wallet you hold the keys to.
Pick WhatsApp if
- Everyone you need is on WhatsApp and you want nothing to set up.
- You need voice and video calls.
- You use WhatsApp Communities, Channels or business chats.
The details
| Detail | Statim | |
|---|---|---|
| To sign up | Nothing. The app makes twelve words on your device, and they are your account. No phone number, no email. | A phone number. Usernames are announced and can be reserved, but are not live yet. |
| End-to-end encryption | Always on XMTP, Nostr and Status. On Matrix, in chats with encryption on. Telegram chats are not end-to-end encrypted, same as in Telegram's own app. | Personal chats and calls, with the Signal Protocol. Chats with businesses that use Meta's services are not end-to-end encrypted. Backups are encrypted only if you turn that on. |
| Who runs the servers | Each protocol's own nodes, relays and homeservers. The developer runs none of them. You can point the app at your own Nostr relays, Status node or Matrix homeserver. | Meta runs every server. Using an unofficial app can get your account banned. |
| Open source | The whole app, MIT licence. | No published source code. |
| Other networks | XMTP, Nostr, Status, Telegram and Matrix in one chat list. WhatsApp, Signal, Slack, Discord and others through a Matrix bridge you run. | In the EU, 1:1 chats with two other apps, BirdyChat and Haiket, if you opt in. |
| Wallet | Ethereum and its chains, Bitcoin and Solana, from the same twelve words. A plugin, off until you turn it on. Ledger, Trezor and Keystone work too. | Payments in some countries, such as India over UPI. |
| Voice and video calls | None. | Voice and video, and group calls of up to 32 people. |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows and Linux. iPhone in beta on TestFlight, Android in open testing on Google Play. | iPhone and Android, with linked devices on Windows, macOS and the web. No Linux app. |
Sources
WhatsApp’s side was checked against these pages on . Write to [email protected] if something has changed.