Is Sandes better than WhatsApp in terms of features?

Highlights:

• Sandes is a homegrown App by the Indian Government.
• Basic features are similar to WhatsApp.
• It is available on the Apple Store as Sandes
• Sandes is free and there are no ads in the app
• It is named as GIMS(Government instant messaging system) in android
• It is not available on the Play Store but you can download it from the official government website www.gims.gov.in/dash/dlink

Sandes, an instant messaging app of the Government of India and an Indian alternative to WhatsApp, is now accessible to all. This app has been launched by the National Informatics Center (NIC), promotes PM Narendra Modi's Digital India and Atmanirbhaar Bharat (Self-reliant India) initiatives.

The Sandes app can be used by both government officials and personal users. It requires a mobile number or government email ID for sign-up. Once signed up, users can send and receive messages as well as create new groups. The app also supports media file transactions. There is also a section called "Gimoji", which displays symbols used in official communication.

After Koo, which is seen as an alternative to Twitter, the government has its eyes on WhatsApp as it brings Sandes, an instant messaging platform.

If u want to know more about koo, click on the link given below 

Is Koo App The Next Twitter?

Now, let's find out whether this messaging app is better than the already installed platform called WhatsApp.

If one looks at the app, its interface is very similar to WhatsApp and this app includes the same features. The main difference between Sandes and WhatsApp is that there is an option to sign up using an email ID and not just a phone number. Previously, it was available only to government officials. WhatsApp only allows you to create an account using your number.

Also, it has verified accounts on its platform, which are not available on WhatsApp. Sandes allows users to share videos or photos up to 500MB while WhatsApp offers the option to send videos with regular files of up to 16MB and 100MB. There is an option which enables you to create a backup of your chats over email as well , which is not the case in whatsapp as it only allows you to create a backup on either Google Drive or iCloud for respective android and ios users .

Meanwhile, the Sandes app does not allow mobile numbers or email IDs to be changed after creating an account. So, if you have a new mobile number or your email ID is lost, you will have to create a new account and all your chats will be lost. Whereas WhatsApp helps to change the phone number without deleting their existing profile.

Currently, Sandes does not have the fingerprint lock feature and screen lock feature, which WhatsApp provides. However, Sandes offers to check the weather details of the city in the app.

Like WhatsApp and other popular instant messaging apps, the Sandes (which can be read as "messages" in Hindi) app developers claim that the app is encrypted end-to-end. The application can be used to send and receive messages or to share media files with contacts. There is also a feature of contact sharing and group chat. Apart from this, users can also broadcast messages. Sources in the government have also confirmed to NDTV that the government is also working on an app named Samvad (which means dialogue). An official of MITY told NDTV that "These apps are being fully developed by the Indian government. It will be an instant messaging app like WhatsApp. "

What data does Sandes collect from users and say about security?

According to the Sandes App's privacy policy, all messages in an individual or group chat are "end-to-end encrypted to ensure secure communication". The policy clearly states that the system "does not sell or share any personally identifiable information to any third party, except as covered by law enforcement/courts, etc.

Sandes App can be run on which devices ?

For now, the Sandes app is only available for Android and iOS users. It is not compatible with tablets, but you can use the web version of the app. Currently, it is also not available on the Play Store. The Sandes app can be downloaded through the GIMS portal. It will run on Android 5.0 and above. The app for iOS users is available on the App Store and supports iOS 12.0 and above.

Download the Sandes App from here

Step 1: All you need to do is go to www.gims.gov.in/dash/dlink  and click on the download button.

Step 2: Open the application and create your account using your mobile number or email ID. The application sends you a six-digit OTP for verification. (Email ID is limited to official ID only - if you sign-up with a Gmail, Hotmail, or other email accounts, you will see a notice, according to which, you cannot use emails from these domains. Even government accounts like @mygov.in are not accepted. The only official @gov.in email can be used in the app. If you do not have an email ID for this domain, you can use your mobile number)

Step 3: Enter your name, gender and upload your profile. The latter is optional and you can choose to skip if you do not want to upload your image. 

Step 4: You will also be asked to allow location to the application, you can also skip this. The next window will ask if you want to sync contacts, and then you are all set. You can start messaging anyone.

Last Note

Overall Sandes is an Amazing app. The app's privacy policy is secure for every user as they are quite common and are collected by most messaging apps.