CoolApp's Promising Features, But Calling Leaves a Lot to Be Desired

A Brief Introduction

About CoolApp.

CoolApp's main goal is to offer a secure chat app with end-to-end encryption, using local DIX for connecting to the CoolApp server, which provides a fast connection for Cambodian residents. The chat client is an independent version of Signal for Android, iOS, MacOS, and Windows.

Office Location:

#8DE0 Street 598 Phum 1 Sangkat Chrang Chamres 2 Khan Ruessey Keo

(Postal Code: 120705), Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I recently reviewed three messengers that could be a great alternative to the fading WhatsApp, and CoolApp is one of them.

🔻bip

🔻 imo

🔻 teleguard.

However, today I wanted to focus on CoolApp, which has the advantage of not having SMS lag, at least for now.

coolapp messenger reviews

Let's dive into the app's functionality and see if it's worth downloading.

📌 Registration is super easy.

You enter your number, get a confirmation code, and that's it – you're officially in CoolApp.

messenger coolapp registration

Then, you add your name (which can be anything), set up a PIN code, and add some info in the 'about me' section if needed.

By the way, I almost forgot to mention that you need to search for 'coolapp messenger for iPhone' to download it on iOS – no thanks.

📌 Settings is a crucial part of the app.

🔺 Account settings allow you to change your PIN code, transfer your account to a new device, or delete the account if needed.

🔺 Notifications are self-explanatory.

🔺 Linked devices allow you to add one account to multiple devices.

🔺 Appearance settings let you choose a theme, change chat wallpapers, and adjust message size – some people prefer a medium font size, while others like it bigger.

🔺 Privacy settings allow you to control who can find you in the app, set up 'disappearing messages,' and even set your own interval.

cool app settings

You can also enable the 'Screen Lock' feature to prevent others from taking screenshots of your conversations.

🔺 Data and storage settings let you see how cluttered the app's memory is, set up automatic media downloads, and choose media quality.

However, the media quality feature doesn't work as expected – even with high-quality file sending settings, files load in a terrible state.

I've tried restarting the app and checking the settings, but nothing seems to work.

In contrast, Bip and imo handle media quality just fine.

📌 Now about chats.

The first time someone sends you a message or you send one to them, you'll get a 'request to chat,' which you can accept, decline, or block the contact altogether.

cool app messenger reviews

New contacts might not show up in your app right away, so you'll have to search for them manually or hit the 'update contacts' button.

You can also pin your most important chats to the top so you don't lose them in the conversation stream.

❌ Now, onto the downsides of chats :

1. For some reason, it doesn't show whether your contact is online or not – I dug through every setting, but couldn't figure out how to fix this issue.

2. Notifications might not come through, so you or the person you're chatting with might not even know they've been messaged.

Stickers are available, but you need to enable system emojis in chat settings – and even then, there aren't many to choose from.

❌ Calling is a major letdown.

Apparently, due to current realities, calls in all messengers are heavily throttled, so you might experience issues like sound cutting out, video freezing, or the call dropping.

And I've had this happen not just once or twice – every single time I've used the calling feature.

Yeah, if you need to discuss something urgently, you can make it work, but if you want to have a longer conversation, the calls will start to glitch out, and that can get pretty annoying.

And if the other person doesn't hang up in time, you'll get a notification about a missed call.

📌 Groups and channels are a bit of a mystery.

According to the website, CoolApp has channels you can subscribe to and read, but I couldn't find any – in fact, I couldn't even find a tab for channels.

However, you can create groups here.

So, what's the verdict ? I decided not to use CoolApp – yeah, the app's minimalist design is a plus, and it doesn't require a virtual private network for normal functioning.

However, the issues with media file quality and calling were a major letdown, even though I get that the calling problems might not be the app's fault.

Whether or not to use the messenger is up to you – I hope my review helps you make up your mind.