TimA: Whatsapp is owned by facebook. I think we will all get spied on if using that. Maybe a thing called email or if your that way inclined ichat thing for iphone.
Viber
Skype
Facebook even
Snapchat
For what it's worth we have been using WhatsApp for the past two years long before Facebook bought it..
Group chat on email is out of the ark . The only other one I would consider id BBM but that's not easy for the technically challenged like most of the rest of the family..