WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion users. While the normal WhatsApp app offers a great messaging experience, many users are drawn to alternatives like GB WhatsApp because they offer additional features not found in the official version. In this comprehensive comparison, we’ll examine the key differences between normal WhatsApp and GB WhatsApp to help you decide which is better for you.
Key Differences
Here is a quick overview of the main differences between normal WhatsApp and GB WhatsApp:
| Feature | Normal WhatsApp | GB WhatsApp |
|---|---|---|
| Customization | Limited customization options | Highly customizable interface and chat colors |
| Privacy | End-to-end encryption | No end-to-end encryption |
| Features | Standard WhatsApp features | Additional features like auto-reply, video calling, enhanced media sharing |
| Ads | No ads | Contains ads |
| Legality | Official app, legal | Unofficial mod, violates WhatsApp policy |
As you can see, GB WhatsApp offers more customization options and features compared to normal WhatsApp, but lacks end-to-end encryption and is not the official app. Read on for a more detailed comparison.
Interface and Customization
One of the biggest advantages of GB WhatsApp over the normal version is the ability to extensively customize the interface and chat colors.
Normal WhatsApp offers very limited customization – you can change the chat wallpaper and tweak a few display settings, but that’s about it. The default WhatsApp color scheme is bright green for calls and green/white for chats.
GB WhatsApp, on the other hand, lets you completely revamp the look and feel of the app. You can:
- Change overall theme colors for chats, calls, interfaces
- Customize every part of the chat screen like bubbles, ticks, fonts
- Set custom wallpapers and backgrounds
- Modify app icons and launch screens
- Adjust various display elements like app size, animations, etc
This level of customization allows you to give WhatsApp a unique, personalized look. You can match colors to your preferences, try out new designs, themes and layouts. It’s a major advantage if you like to customize your device experience.
Customization in GB WhatsApp
| Element | Customization Options |
|---|---|
| Chat bubbles | Shape, color, size, style |
| Chat background | Solid colors, gradients, patterns, images |
| Text fonts | Font style, size, color, formatting |
| Notifications | Tones, pop-ups, icons, lights |
| Calls interface | Colors, buttons, layouts |
| App icons | Custom icon set options |
Normal WhatsApp has none of these interface modification capabilities – you’re limited to basic colors and wallpapers. So if extensive control over the look of your chats is important, GB WhatsApp has a significant advantage.
Features and Capabilities
In terms of features, GB WhatsApp also outpaces the normal version. It has all of the core messaging capabilities, but piles on many additional options:
Additional GB WhatsApp Features
- Auto-reply – Set automated away/busy messages
- Video calling – Voice and video calls support
- Hiding chats – Password protect or hide chats
- Pin chats – Pin important chats to the top
- Larger media – Share files up to 50MB
- Advanced privacy – Preview privacy, disable read receipts
- Dual accounts – Run two accounts on one phone
- Themes – Download custom themes from the GB Store
Normal WhatsApp takes a simpler, more streamlined approach to features. Video calling, hiding chats, advanced privacy controls and other such capabilities are not present in the official app.
This gives GB WhatsApp another advantage – you get access to more features to enhance your messaging experience. However, whether these additional capabilities are necessary for you depends on your use-cases.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Normal WhatsApp | GB WhatsApp |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-reply | ❌ | ✅ |
| Pin chats | ❌ | ✅ |
| Hide chats | ❌ | ✅ |
| Video calls | ❌ | ✅ |
| Advanced privacy | ❌ | ✅ |
| Dual accounts | ❌ | ✅ |
| Max media size | 16MB | 50MB |
Privacy and Security
Privacy is a major point of differentiation between normal WhatsApp and GB WhatsApp.
The official WhatsApp app uses end-to-end encryption for all chats. This ensures your conversations stay private and secure. No third party, including WhatsApp itself, can access chat data.
GB WhatsApp, however, does not have end-to-end encryption. Chats are not encrypted in the same way as the normal version. This means there is a privacy risk – chatting on GB WhatsApp is likely less secure.
Some other privacy-related factors:
- GB WhatsApp is based on reverse-engineering WhatsApp, so its codebase is not as robust.
- Features like hiding chats are not as secure as true end-to-end encryption.
- There could be malware risks since it’s not an official app.
- User data may be collected by GB WhatsApp developers.
Normal WhatsApp is widely regarded as secure and private thanks to its encryption implementation. GB WhatsApp makes certain tradeoffs in this area to enable its additional capabilities.
Privacy Comparison
| Factor | Normal WhatsApp | GB WhatsApp |
|---|---|---|
| End-to-end encryption | ✅ | ❌ |
| Privacy vulnerabilities | Minimal | Moderate risk |
| Data collection | Minimal | Possible |
| Malware risk | Low | Moderate |
| Code robustness | Very high | Moderate |
So normal WhatsApp definitely provides a more private and secure messaging experience versus GB WhatsApp. You’ll have to choose if the extra features are worth the privacy tradeoffs.
Ads and Paid Services
Another noticeable difference between the two apps is that GB WhatsApp contains ads, while normal WhatsApp does not.
GB WhatsApp displays banner and pop-up ads within the app interface. These ads help pay for the development and maintenance of the unofficial version.
Normal WhatsApp is ad-free – it derives revenue from optional paid services instead. You can use WhatsApp 100% free without ever seeing an ad.
Related to this, WhatsApp also offers some paid capabilities that are free in GB WhatsApp, like:
- WhatsApp Business API – Paid API for businesses
- Disappearing messages – Must enable WhatsApp Premium
- Larger group sizes – Part of WhatsApp Premium
So GB WhatsApp does save you money if you want certain premium features without paying. But the tradeoff is frequent ads throughout the app.
Ads and Paid Services
| Factor | Normal WhatsApp | GB WhatsApp |
|---|---|---|
| In-app ads | None | Frequent banner/pop-up ads |
| Paid services | WhatsApp Premium, Business API | None |
| Disappearing messages | Requires Premium | Free feature |
| Large groups | Requires Premium | Free up to 200 people |
So if you are looking to avoid ads and access premium features for free, GB WhatsApp has an advantage. But normal WhatsApp retains a cleaner, ad-free interface.
Legality and Ban Risk
The final major difference between normal WhatsApp and GB WhatsApp relates to legality and the risk of getting banned.
Normal WhatsApp is the official messaging app owned and operated by WhatsApp/Meta. It complies with all policies and app store terms. There is no risk of your account being banned.
GB WhatsApp, however, violates WhatsApp’s terms by reverse-engineering their code to create an unofficial mod. Using GB WhatsApp could result in your account being banned by WhatsApp.
Reports indicate WhatsApp does ban accounts that use unauthorized mods. And once banned, it can be very difficult to get your account restored.
Other legal risks include:
- GB WhatsApp may engage in illegal data collection from users.
- The app may contain stolen intellectual property from WhatsApp.
- Distribution of GB WhatsApp violates copyright and trademark laws.
So while GB WhatsApp itself is not illegal, there are definite legal risks involved with using it. Normal WhatsApp is the only 100% safe, authorized app.
Legality Comparison
| Factor | Normal WhatsApp | GB WhatsApp |
|---|---|---|
| App legitimacy | Official app | Unofficial mod |
| TOS compliance | Full compliance | Violates WhatsApp policy |
| Account ban risk | None | Moderate risk |
| Legal concerns | None | IP theft, illegal distribution |
Normal WhatsApp is clearly the safer choice when it comes to legality. But some users feel the extra features in GB WhatsApp outweigh the small legal risks.
Conclusion
In summary, here are the key takeaways when comparing GB WhatsApp vs normal WhatsApp:
- GB WhatsApp allows much more customization of colors, themes, layouts
- It offers more features like video calling, auto-reply, advanced privacy
- GB WhatsApp contains ads, while normal WhatsApp is ad-free
- Normal WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption, GB WhatsApp does not
- There is some ban and legal risk with using unauthorized GB WhatsApp
So in essence, GB WhatsApp gives you more options and extras beyond regular WhatsApp, at the cost of slightly lower security and questions around legitimacy.
For most mainstream users, normal WhatsApp is likely the safer choice. But if you highly value customizations and bonus features and are willing to accept the risks, GB WhatsApp may be a good alternative.
Evaluate your priorities and requirements as a user to determine which version of WhatsApp – GB or normal – makes the most sense for you. And consider whether the incremental benefits of GB WhatsApp outweigh the disadvantages for your personal or professional messaging needs.