A SMS app that really delivers
GO SMS Pro is an excellent replacement for your phone's standard SMS app. It offers a ton of features, specifically focused on privacy, security and better organization.
Keep messages away from prying eyes
Unlike the immensely popular messaging services such as WhatsApp, LINE, Viber, and Tango, GO SMS Pro, uses your network carrier rather than 3G or WiFi to send messages. It is designed to replace your stock SMS application, which is why when you open GO SMS Pro, it asks you to make it the default application for sending text messages.
GO SMS Pro is packed with tons of useful features that make it a credible alternative to both your stock SMS app and the other messaging apps. First up, it provides a 'private box', which is a separate, password-protected area of the app where you can store messages from contacts of your choice. All future messages from these contacts will go in this box.
Protecting your privacy and keeping out spam and junk is a key focus for GO SMS Pro. There are options to blacklist people and keywords or only accept messages from your contacts. You can choose to receive notifications when a message is blocked so you don't need to worry about messages going astray.
But the security and privacy features don't stop there. If you're worried about prying eyes peering at your messages as they arrive on your phone, you can access an option which displays the notification simply as 'new message', instead of displaying the sender and content. GO SMS Pro doesn't include an option to lock the app with a pin code so if you don't want people to read your messages, you'll still need a SIM lock or third-party app lock.
There are a few other cool features in GO SMS Pro that are worth mentioning. Firstly you can choose to send messages anonymously, as well as send a video or voice message. The ability to schedule messages in the future and to delay sending by up to four seconds (or a custom time if you upgrade to premium from within the app) gives you a lot more control over what you send. Being able to search for content in messages (which is an often overlooked feature in messaging apps) is another welcome addition.
Although some of these features are already included in the stock messaging app, depending on the model of your phone. Samsung, for example, allows you to schedule messages in the future.
Make your messages look pretty
While GO SMS Pro isn't preloaded with many customization options beyond the ability to change the theme color, font color and background, you can download many different themes to spice up your messaging. These options are customizable for each and every contact, making the appearance features on par or better than competitor messaging apps. However, the overall design is a little uninspiring and there are more attractive messaging apps out there.
As GO SMS Pro works in the same way as a stock messaging app and looks pretty similar, it's easy to pick up straight away and start texting. However, the options on the main menu (which is located in the left sidebar) are confusingly organized, meaning that when you alter something it can be difficult to change it back if you don't like it. I chose to group all messages from unknown numbers in one place but couldn't find the option to change this back again. Also, the menu can be tricky to access on smaller screens as you have to tap quite a small button.
Go premium
If you decide to upgrade to the premium version of GO SMS Pro, you'll get a number of useful extra features. You can turn off adverts, add a hidden entrance to your 'private box', get unlimited cloud space to back up your messages, send up to 20MB of MMS and send more than 100 messages an hour.
A great SMS alternative
As a replacement for your stock SMS app, GO SMS Pro delivers a raft of innovative and unique features that focus on one of the most important concerns these days: security. This focus is backed up by lots of other useful options, a host of appearance customization options, and a user interface that sticks close enough to the stock messaging app that means you won't have any problems adapting. A great all rounder.
