Almost every mainstream messaging app works in Dubai for texting, including WhatsApp, iMessage, Telegram, Facebook Messenger and Signal. The catch is calling: voice and video calls only work on apps licensed by the UAE regulator.
Apps for texting
These handle chats, photos and voice notes normally in Dubai:
- iMessage
- Facebook Messenger
- Telegram
- Signal
- Regular SMS on your US plan (check roaming fees)
Apps that can also call
Gulf News lists the voice and video apps you can legally use in the UAE. The ones most useful to a visitor:
- BOTIM: the best-known local calling app. Calling typically needs a paid plan from du or e&.
- GoChat Messenger: a UAE-approved chat and calling app.
- Zoom: free audio and video, easy for calling family back home.
- Microsoft Teams: works well, especially on work accounts.
- Skype for Business and Webex: approved for business use.
Khaleej Times' earlier list of 17 legally allowed VoIP apps also includes Google Meet, Slack and C'Me. Traveler reports on Google Meet are mixed, so have Zoom as a backup.
What doesn't call
WhatsApp, FaceTime, consumer Skype, Messenger and Telegram calls are blocked or unreliable. One app to avoid altogether is ToTok: in 2019 a New York Times investigation, reported by Al Jazeera, alleged it was a government surveillance tool, and Apple and Google pulled it.
A simple setup for a trip: WhatsApp or iMessage for texts, Zoom for free video calls home, and your carrier's roaming for anything urgent.