Stories, a map with your friends, streaks and photos that open once. Without ads, without your photos training AI, and with your data in the EU.
mssgs is a European alternative to Snapchat for friends who share their day. You get stories for everyone, your friends or a private group, a map where you share your location with each friend separately, streaks, and photos that open once. The difference: mssgs has no ads, is made by a Dutch company, stores your data in the EU with a Dutch hosting provider and never uses your messages or photos to train AI. It also has communities with voice channels, games in every chat and apps for your computer. If Lenses, Bitmoji and Spotlight are what you open Snapchat for, Snapchat still has more of those.
Comparison checked on 11 October 2026.
The things you use every day, a different company behind them. Green marks the side that is ahead on that row, and we say so when that is Snapchat.
| Feature | Snapchat | mssgs |
|---|---|---|
| Company and privacy | ||
| Made by | Snap Inc., United States | RUAL, the Netherlands |
| Where your data is stored | In the United States or elsewhere, on Google Cloud and AWS | In the EU, with a Dutch hosting provider |
| Advertising | Between Stories, in Spotlight and Discover, and Sponsored Snaps in your chats | None |
| AI | My AI chatbot in your chats; public Snaps can train Snap's AI unless you opt out | Your messages and photos are never used to train AI |
| Message encryption | Not described as end-to-end encrypted | Encrypted before they are stored, with a key for each conversation |
| Age check | The birthday you enter, age inferred from activity, ID or a face scan in some countries | Age band from your device, or the age you enter. No ID, no face scan |
| Friends, stories and the map | ||
| Stories | 24 hours; another length takes Snapchat+ | 24 hours, or 1 hour, 12 hours or 5 days, free |
| Who sees a story | Your friends, a private story or public | Everyone, your friends or a private group |
| Map with your friends | Snap Map, with Ghost Mode | Share with each friend separately, within a range you pick |
| Streaks | Yes | Yes |
| Photos that open once | Yes | Yes, camera photos in a DM by default |
| Chats that disappear | By default, after they are viewed | When you turn on ghost mode, or with a timer per chat |
| Lenses and avatars | Thousands of Lenses, Bitmoji | Face lenses in the camera, stickers from your own photos |
| Memories | 5 GB free, more with a paid plan | A private gallery, locked with Face ID, Touch ID or a code |
| Groups, apps and price | ||
| Groups | Group chats of up to 201 people | Communities with text and voice channels, roles and moderation tools |
| Group calls | Up to 15 on video and 32 on voice, in a group chat | In community voice channels, with screen sharing |
| Apps | iOS, Android, and a web version on one computer at a time | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux and web |
| Price | Free, Snapchat+ from €3.99 a month | Free, Premium is optional and never renews by itself |
The reasons we hear most, and what mssgs does instead.
Snapchat is mainly paid for by advertising: ads sit between Stories and in Spotlight and Discover, and since June 2026 Sponsored Snaps reach the chat inbox in the Netherlands too. In April 2026 Snap announced AI Sponsored Snaps: advertisers' own AI chatbots in the chat feed.
No ads and no tracking, anywhere. mssgs is paid for by optional Premium and credits, and everything you share with friends stays free.
Since September 2025 Snapchat keeps 5 GB of Memories for free. Above that you need a paid storage plan, and from January 2027 older Memories outside the free 5 GB can only be opened, edited or shared with one.
Bring your Snapchat Memories with you: mssgs can import them into Memories, your private gallery locked with Face ID, Touch ID or a code.
My AI sits in Snapchat's chat list, built on models from OpenAI and Google. What you tell it is kept until you delete it and used to improve Snap's products and ads, and public Snaps can train Snap's generative AI unless you opt out.
Your messages, photos and stories are never used to train AI. No chatbot is pinned to your chats.
Snap Inc. in California is the controller of European users' data. It may store and process it in the United States, and runs mostly on Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services.
mssgs is made in the Netherlands. The servers it runs on are hosted with BIT in Ede, no American cloud. See security.
A Snapchat Story lasts 24 hours. Choosing another length is a Snapchat+ feature.
Pick 1 hour, 12 hours, 24 hours or 5 days for each story, and who sees it: everyone, your friends or a private group. Free.
Snapchat for Web runs in Chrome, Edge or Safari, on one computer at a time. There is no desktop app.
mssgs has apps for Windows, macOS and Linux next to iPhone, Android and the web, with your chats, stories and the map on all of them.
mssgs is not a copy of Snapchat, and there are things Snapchat does that mssgs does not. Better to know before you move your friends.
Your account takes a minute. Bring your Memories, then bring your friends.
Free on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS and Linux, or open it in your browser. All you need is an email address.
In Settings → Import from Snapchat, bring your Snapchat Memories into mssgs, then post your first story.
Share your QR code or an invite link, or let your friends find you by your username.
That depends on what you use Snapchat for. For friends who share their day with stories, a map and streaks, and want that without ads and with their data in Europe, mssgs is a good fit. It also has communities with voice channels, games in every chat and apps for your computer. If Lenses and Spotlight are what you open Snapchat for, Snapchat still has more of those.
Yes. mssgs is built by RUAL, a Dutch software company founded in 2009, falls under Dutch law and stores your data in the EU: the servers it runs on are hosted with BIT in Ede. It has no ads and never uses your messages or photos to train AI.
Yes. A story can be for everyone, your friends or a private group, and lasts 24 hours, or 1 hour, 12 hours or 5 days if you choose. On the map you share your location with each friend separately, within a range you pick, until you stop. Streaks show a flame and a count next to friends you keep a chat going with, and Premium brings a lost streak back once a month.
Yes. Settings → Import from Snapchat brings your Snapchat Memories into mssgs, into Memories: your private gallery, locked with Face ID, Touch ID or a code.
Yes. A photo from the camera in a DM opens once by default, and you see when it was opened. Ghost mode makes messages in a DM disappear about a minute after everyone has left the chat, and every DM can delete its messages after a time you set. mssgs tells you when someone saves an attachment or takes a screenshot, but it cannot stop them.
Yes. Stories, the map, chats, communities, calls and the games are free for everyone. Premium is optional, is paid with credits and never renews by itself.
No. There are no ads in mssgs, not in your chats, not between stories and not on the map, and mssgs does not track you.
Free to start, no credit card. Your stories, your map, your data in Europe.
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