It's impossible to stick to just one messaging app but I have a suggestion
I'm an Android user and I believe it is unrealistic to have just one messaging app on your phone. But it is quite possible to stick to two.
Below I explain how I approached choosing what two messaging apps to keep on my phone. You might decide to go all in and use this approach as-is or just utilize it to determine which two apps deserve to have their notifications turned on.
When it comes to personal use, to me it seems that there're just two kinds of messaging apps at the moment:
- Just chats (one-on-one or group chats)
- Communities and channels (think Discord or Telegram)
#2 is somewhat new to me but I find it to be a much better alternative for interreacting with niche communities than social media. In a way, those Discord channels have replaced forums/message boards of the old days.
So let's say you have the following apps on your phone right now: Discord, Telegram, Viber, Signal & WhatsApp. Based on how you personally use them, they might be divided like this:
| Mostly just chats: | Mostly communities: |
|---|---|
| Telegram | |
| Viber | Discord |
| Telegram | |
| Signal | |
| Discord |
Since apps are so versatile this days, your division might be completely different.
Based on the above example, it might seem possible for me to stick to just one app - Discord (if I am able to teach some of the older folks how to use it).
However, I would suggest allowing yourself a bit of redundancy. It could be allowing yourself access to both Telegram and Discord communities or deciding to use a more secure app for chats, like Signal, with those friends who are willing to do so.
In my case, I do not have to access to my Discord communities during the workday (and I keep them muted anyway) but I like to have the ability to check them, if I choose to, on my evening commute instead of scrolling the news.
So (1) a secure messenger and (2) Discord are staying on my phone. The rest of them are going away.
I feel this approach to be restrictive enough for someone active on the internet, yet still beneficial in removing some of the digital clutter from an everyday device.