A lot of its users got fed up because of all the privacy issues of Facebook; thus, they need a safe place where they can voice out their ideas without any fear of their data getting hacked. As per the research, it was found that trust in Facebook took a dip by 66% in 2018. They have been collecting all your data for the past few years, which is pretty scary, and urges people to switch to some other better platform where they can get the privacy and security of their data.
30 Best Facebook Alternatives in 2023
About Facebook
It is an American online social media and social networking service company that is based in Menlo Park, California. It was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, all of whom were students at Harvard University. In 2006, Facebook took the internet by storm when it went global and in no time became one of the biggest social media platforms. Facebook became the king of all the networking sites. It completely transformed the way people used to socialize, and it also challenged every physical boundary. As a result, Facebook became the world’s largest social media network, with more than one billion users in 2012. You would be amazed to know that, as per the reports, half of its users were using Facebook every day. Using Facebook has always been free; their major source of income is through advertisements on the website. New users can easily make their profiles, upload pictures, join an existing group, or can also start a new group. In addition, there are various other components, such as Timeline, a particular space is provided on user’s profile page where they can post their content and friends can post messages. There are some other features such as “Status,” this option is for users to alert friends about their current location and another great option is “News Feed,” which informs the users about changes in their friends’ profiles and status. Facebook users can also chat with each other and send private messages. The best part is that they have provided a like button with the help of which users can signal their approval of content on Facebook; it is a feature that also appears on many other websites now.
Why do we need a Facebook Alternative?
Everything comes with advantages and disadvantages, and the same is for Facebook as well. Facebook has become a part of various people’s everyday life, and people love its features and user interface. But, recently has been criticized globally because of the change in its privacy policy frequently. Facebook is trying to take control over the information that we provide on our accounts. Recently, there has been an infamous Facebook-CA scandal, plus its users also disliked its experiment with News Feed. There are various other reasons as well why people are looking for Facebook alternatives, but the significant reason is privacy and mismanagement in securing the data.
List Of Facebook Alternatives
There are numerous messaging apps, social networks, and news aggregation websites which you can use as a Facebook alternative. They have been in the market for a couple of years, and now is the best time to traverse them and use them in socializing with friends and family without the concern of your data being stolen and saved on huge servers in far-flung stations. Here is the list of some of the best Facebook alternatives for you:
1) MeWe
It was launched in 2016 and is relatively new to the social networking market. But, within a couple of years, it has more than 10 million users, and this number is growing every day. It covers all the Facebook basics such as groups, newsfeed, messaging app, and the major benefit of using MeWe: you can be assured that your data is completely safe. They market themselves as the “The Social Network Built on Trust, Control and Love,” which says it all. MeWe also offers various additional features such as cloud storage, disappearing content, available for both iOS and Android, and much more. Also Read: 14 Ways to Earn Money from Facebook They have two versions, one is free, and the other is MeWe Pro which is chargeable. In MeWe Pro, you get access to some of its exclusive features, which are not available in the free version. This platform is rapidly gaining popularity and competes with both Facebook and Parler.
2) Parler
This platform appeals to a wide audience because this network was founded on the promise of free speech. It was launched in 2018 and is used majorly by conservatives, right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists, and all other people who were banned on Facebook and Twitter for hate speech. The good part about them is that they care about your privacy and renders you with tools with the help of which you can open up about your views without the fear of getting banned or removed from the platform, unlike Facebook. Parler is a French word that means “Speak” in English; thus, the name itself depicts how strong this platform is. They just have two restrictions which they work with, which are “No crime and no spam.” They have more than 15 million users in just a couple of years, and more and more people are joining it.
3) WT.Social
It is one of the best Facebook alternatives because it has the vision to be the complete reverse version of Facebook. Its tagline is “the non-toxic social network,” which in itself is pretty interesting. WT Social was launched by the co-founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales. You would be able to surely see Wikipedia’s microblogging and contribution characteristics on WT Social. Also Read: 55 Best Part-Time Weekend Jobs That Pay Surprisingly Well WT Social is exactly opposite to Facebook in terms of privacy and security that it offers to its users. They offer multiple exciting features such as content moderation, privacy options, and whatnot. There are no algorithms that you would see to curate your feed, no biased content, plus here advertisers don’t dictate what’s on the site. The highlighting part about them is that if you violate their rules, you would be removed from the platform; they have a hard stance against misleading content. WT Social is a genuine and honest social media platform that aims to connect people in a plain and simple manner.
4) Vero
This platform is based on the subscription model, which means that here you would not see any ads, and they do not collect data for it. On their home page, they have mentioned “a social network for anyone who loves anything enough to share it – and wants control over who they share it with. Just like we do in real life.” This statement is enough to explain their concern for the security and privacy of their users. However, it works differently compared to Facebook because they do not acquire any data from users’ accounts to make money from them. It is a fast-growing social media alternative that is only app-based. Its app is very stylish with a fresh design and premium feel. The good part is that connecting your phone’s contacts with the app makes it easy to find friends and family that are already using Vero.
5) Minds
It was launched in 2015 when there were concerns about Facebook and the amount of data they collected from users’ accounts. It is an open-source social media platform that was founded by Bill Ottman, John Ottman, and Mark Harding. While making this platform, they focused strongly on privacy and data security. They also reward their users for their activity online, and the good part is that you can access Minds from both website and a smartphone app. They watch users’ daily movement and contribution to society. The amount user gets is assessed by the percentage across the network that defines their share of the Daily Reward Pool of tokens. Minds’ working process and procedure are like Facebook; they also offer feeds, posts, groups, user profiles, and sharing. The unique thing about them is that they have incorporated a feature of cryptocurrency as well, wherein users can earn by creating engaging content. Users can use the cryptocurrency, the Minds token, to promote posts on the network or Exchange it for other crypto and cash.
6) Mastodon
It is a famous Facebook alternative; Mastodon was launched in 2017 and hugely affected the social media network. Initially, it was an open-source Twitter competitor, but now people who are leaving Facebook are using Mastodon, and they really like it. It is pretty different from Facebook, and one of the significant reasons that set it apart is its “instance” feature. There are a series of connected nodes in this, and your account belongs to a specific instance. The whole interface is divided into 4 card-like columns. It might sound a bit complicated, but actually, it is very interesting, and you can get along with it very quickly. The good thing is that it is a decentralized alternative to commercial social network platforms as no single company owns it. Also Read: 60 Best Business Ideas for Women
7) Steemit
This website is a good mix of Reddit and Quora as you can publish your post here, and based on the upvotes, you would be rewarded with Steem crypto tokens. Within just a couple of years, it has more than 1.2 M users, and the numbers are increasing persistently because of the amazing features they render. It is very similar to blockchain-based blogging and social media sites where you receive crypto as rewards. As per the data, they have 10M visits every month, and its growth has been organic; people are joining it because they are receiving compensation in return for their time. Steemit believes in sustainability; thus, they do not gobble their user’s data. They store all the content of users in the Steem Blockchain that any central authority cannot delete.
8) Ello
It is an excellent social networking alternative to Facebook; it was launched in 2014 and gained a lot of popularity. It was launched when Facebook modified its policy on the names of its members, where they had to use their actual legal name. Since then, Ello has been in the news for some of the other reasons. Ello became the first serious competitor of Facebook and was given the name “Facebook killer.” They aimed to embrace user’s creativity and focus on filmmakers, photographers, artists, and other creators. The highlighting part about Ello is that it is ad-free and also stays away from selling its user’s information to any third party. They have now turned into a Pinterest-like website where they showcase art, photography, culture, and much more. It offers a virtual workplace and forum for artists, brands, and their fans.
9) Nextdoor
If you are looking for a social media network to connect to your neighborhood, this is the best platform. With the help of this network, you can socialize with people in and around your locality. It is a great social media platform to join as you can use it to set a get-together with your neighbors, get local help, and connect with public agencies for critical information and tips. The unique thing about this website is that whatever you upload on it would be accessible to only the same neighborhood users. Furthermore, all the people on this platform are verified, making it even more reliable and safe. It takes you out of the cloak of social engagement through the web and gets you into the real world. It helps create your network with real people around you- from news to local businesses, items for sale, local services, and so on.
10) Career Builder
Career Builder is a reliable website that is considered the best Facebook alternatives. Whether you are looking to get career advice, job listings, and resume posting, it offers handy resources for all job seekers. In addition, this platform is collaborated with numerous companies to expand local listings. Also Read: Top 31 Highest Paid Bloggers
11) Clubhouse
Other than the privacy issue that people have from Facebook is that they have visual-only interaction. A lot of people say that it is unnatural as most of the inter-human connection is verbal. This is the reason why Clubhouse gained a lot of popularity. You can make simple voice conversations through Clubhouse with people all over the world. There are also groups on Clubhouse where you can join in for discussions on any topic that you like. You also have the option to create your own room and start a topic about anything that you are interested in. If you don’t want to participate, then you can also just listen to the conversation, which can also help increase your knowledge. People are really happy communicating more naturally as it is pretty simple, plus it gives a more personal touch.
12) Friendica
It is a decentralized platform that aims to provide its users with more freedom. Although it is a bit complicated as compared to Facebook, its developers are still working on its framework to make it easy for non-technical people. In addition, they are striving to make its installation process like WordPress on websites. There is no single owner of Friendica; its software is open-source that is available on GitHub. Volunteers are doing the ongoing development of this platform; although it has still had excellent features, they want to make it the best, which is why many people are liking it and joining it. For building an account on Friendica, you must first fix the software on a congenial system. This means that you are making your own server with which you would be able to connect to your friends. The good part is that you can post your content and connect with your friends while averting the rest of the noise.
13) Twitter
How can we not add one of the best Facebook alternatives to this list? Almost all the big personalities, celebrities and even commoners are on Twitter. It is very easy to use and has a huge user base. Beating Twitter is next to impossible as it has more than 300 million monthly active users who tweet about the latest happening/news going globally. You would see that all the new stories and arguments always break on Twitter first and then on Facebook. The highlighting thing about Twitter is that it renders you an opportunity to interact with journalists and editors directly. It might not be upbeat for using it to catch with family members, but if you wish to stay up-to-date and keeping your point then Twitter is unbeatable. Also Read: 40 Best Online Proofreading Jobs for Beginners
14) Diaspora
It was created in 2010 as an alternative to the big social media giant Facebook. Diaspora is a non-profit and distributed social network that is based on free Diaspora software; it is a free personal web server that makes nodes for its decentralized nature. They built it majorly on three principles that are freedom, decentralization, and privacy. Diaspora possesses various distinct networks that are called pods; they are built by the users who are using Diaspora’s free software. This is a good thing that no person owns Diaspora, and it is away from advertisement and corporate influence. If you wish to join Diaspora, you would either have to create a new pod or join an open pod. Once you create an account, you also have the option to retain the ownership of your personal data, but there is no such feature on Facebook.
15) Yubo
It is a great social network for socializing; if you go through their app, you would see that it is not about tracking users with ads. It is ad-free, and their privacy policy is very easy to understand as they have put all the terms that you can read before signing in. They do collect some data but are pretty transparent about data collection. They majorly focus on live streaming and are a very simple network. Its users can create a session with ten streamers and an unlimited number of viewers. You can search for the live streams based on the topic of your interest on their main page. Yubo also has an option wherein you can follow your most liked streamers; the benefit of this feature is that you will get to know whenever they go live. Its target audience is people of 13-25 years, and the good thing is that they have two categories wherein the users’ age of 18 cannot interact with younger users and vice versa.
16) Reddit
It is also called a social news aggregator and became a great Facebook alternative. Their working procedure is pretty simple as the users here share the content that can be up-voted or down-voted as per their choice. The benefit of this is that the interesting and informative content stays up, and the boring content comes down. If you are up-voted, then a lot of people get rewarded by getting their Karma points; people who have more of these points are respected more on Reddit. There are two sub-forums on this website that are called Subreddits. You can find any topic of your interest on the subreddit and can exchange your views on anything. You would not find the basic and typical features on Reddit such as adding friends, a news feed, sharing location, etc. You can join the network by the name you want; you don’t have to reveal your real identity here. It is a great Facebook alternative where you can also learn a lot of new things. Also Read: 11 Best Cheap Domain Registrars
17) Digg
If you use social media platforms to get daily news and information, then Digg is one of the best Facebook alternatives. This platform is different from others because of its exciting curation process. If you compare it from different media outlets, you would see that here you can find some of the excellent stories and videos. The unique thing about this platform is that it can be used without even creating an account. Digg can be used on web and mobile apps as well. It is a nice platform where you can be sure about security, plus you can get to read a lot of informative stuff on this website.
18) Raftr
They call themselves a “civilized social network.” It was created by one of the former Yahoo executives, Sue Decker, in 2017. He created this platform where the major focus should be on conversations and unfolding stories. On Raftr, you can easily connect to different communities where people can share similar interests and discuss the same topic. Their sign up page is also very different from other websites as when you open their website, it will show you two options, one is to find out what’s going on in the real world, and the second option is to connect with people at your college/work/family.etc. You can choose any option as per your choice. If you talk about the safety that it offers, they are completely secure but collect some data for building your profile. Thus, all in all, it is a nice option to consider if you have an interest in knowing what is happening around the world. Also Read: How to Earn Money from YouTube
19) Signal
More than half of the population in the world uses Facebook for reading news and connecting with people. If you also have an interest in news and stay updated with what is going on around the world, this is one of the most reliable platforms for you. Signal offers an excellent notable encrypted messaging service. In contrast, if you are an Apple user, you can also use Apple News to get updates on the latest news and iMessage for chatting with your friends. All these apps are privacy-focused, and your data remains intact, and there are no or minimal chances of your data getting stolen.
20) Dribble
Want to upload a short of your design or just want to explore other designer’s work? Dribble is an ideal platform that will help you showcase your skills or learn from competent designer’s work. Whether you are into product design, illustration, web design, or typography, Dribble is the website that makes one of the best Facebook alternatives. Also Read: Top 15 DeFi Lending Platforms
21) Telegram
This platform is one of the fastest-growing applications as it has all the capabilities of Facebook messenger. It is a cute messenger app that is full of fun artwork and animated mascots. They have more than 500 million active users, and the major reason it has become so popular is that their prime focus is on their users’ privacy. Telegram uses robust encryption techniques so that it can keep your conversation safe. They offer all the standard features that you get on Facebook, such as chat, voice calls, stickers, sending media attachments and videos. You can do group calls through Telegram, plus you can also post videos and other information on your profile. It is compatible with Android, Windows, and iOS as well.
22) LinkedIn
It is a well-known platform for professionals and will continue to remain. LinkedIn is one of the safest social media platforms with very little or zeroes bullying and harassment. On LinkedIn, you can interact with other professionals, find jobs and recruit for your company. On LinkedIn, you will find highly engaged users who would communicate or discuss a variety of professional topics. LinkedIn has emerged as a social network just a couple of years back and focused on the activity feed, stories, and introduction of multimedia posts. This platform is basically for people who like staying up to date on the latest business and industry news. LinkedIn, in every way, is a better place for finding job openings as compared to Facebook. Also Read: How Does LinkedIn Work?
23) Instagram
It is one of the best social networking alternatives to Facebook, as most of the Facebook users are on Instagram. Although Facebook also now owns Instagram, still the privacy and data issues are less on it. Instagram focuses majorly on photos and videos, plus you can also exchange texts with others. Instagram is a comprehensive social network that has grown over the years by leaps and bounds. A lot of people prefer Instagram over other social networking sites is because the users keep the discussion about politics, news, and religion to a minimum; thus it is away from that kind of hustle. But, if you want to leave Facebook because of security concerns, then Instagram is not a great option for you. As it will have almost the similar kind of data collection issues that you had with Facebook.
24) EyeEm
If you are mesmerized by the photo-sharing feature of Facebook, then EyeEm can be a great alternative for you. EyeEm was launched in 2011 and has come out pretty well within a couple of years. Initially, they started it with just a mobile app where its users could share and upload iPhone photos only. But, they expanded their features, and today, they have become a massive digital space, particularly for photographers and businesses. In addition, EyeEm has taken stock of photography to a different level as they have more than 100 million high-quality images in their database. Any user of EyeEm can license photos from this platform. Because of such amazing features and ease of use, EyeEm has become pretty famous with brands and marketing agencies. One unique feature of EyeEm is that they use artificial intelligence for searching for the best image for users instead of using advertising. Also Read: How to Earn Money with Google AdSense
25) .500px
Photography is in trend. It is a thing that pleases everyone if done impeccably. A place where one must visit recurrently instead of Facebook is 500px. Whether you are a professional or doing it just for fun, visiting this platform will enhance your knowledge and build robust networks by allowing you to interact with other photographers. The website is also featured with several tools that prove valuable for a photographer.
26) DeviantArt
Utilize your art and talent by showcasing your skills to the world. Still, thinking about how to do so? One of the best Facebook alternatives, DevianArt, is an ideal platform that allows you to interact with tons of artists and distract your mind from visiting Facebook every time. This website is equipped with various useful features that make it easier for artists to display their work.
27) Flickr
Are you an aspiring photographer and want to rise? Flickr is one platform that lets you explore stupendous captures. The website has built a massive community that helps you create your own selection of fascinating pictures and keep them organized. The platform also has a useful feature that allows users to get a plethora of traction as you can edit the images with its editing tools which improve the quality of your images. Also Read: Top 25 Money Earning Apps In India
28) Behance
Showcase your work and creative designs through Behance. It is a platform that has allowed many newbies to stand out and polish their skills. If you are into designing, you can still discover some astounding work and admire other designers for their work. It is a website that will improve your knowledge of the latest trend going around in the market and proves to be the best alternative to Facebook.
29) Adobe Portfolio
Adobe Portfolio is one platform that will allow you to exhibit your masterpiece by creating a captivating sight. The website comes with plenty of layouts and offers an extensive range of customization that helps you create a unique, charismatic site. This platform ensures the smooth operations and compatibility of the site with all the devices. It also enhances your creativity by offering access to the entire collection of Adobe Creative apps.
30) Sociall.io [Discontinued]
It is a fairly new platform that seems great for users who are privacy-focused. On Social, there are all the standard features just like on any other platform, such as creating posts, following people you like, and searching for new content. People like this platform because it has a unique approach in the context of privacy and data collection. They have all the robust traits that are needed to keep your posts as private as you want. The founders of Social ensure that they use promising security that averts search engines from indexing your profile. Social is not owned by a single entity which makes it a decentralized platform plus, they have implemented blockchain technology and made their security level top-notch. Recommended: 12 Best Penny Cryptocurrency to Invest If you are planning to abandon Facebook, then these are some of the best social networking alternatives to Facebook. Thus, there are numerous options to consider; they have unique features, better privacy policies, and free speech options. Yet, it is also true that Facebook has been and would remain the undisputed king of the social network market.
