Naven
Answers
What is the catch with free messaging apps?
Usually advertising, data sale, or a company that has not yet decided how to make money. The way to tell is to find out who pays for the servers, because that answers what the product will become.
Advertising-funded messengers need attention, which is why they grow feeds, notifications and engagement mechanics over time. Data-funded ones need information about you, which shapes what is collected. Neither is hidden — it is in the privacy policy, in the section most people skip.
Donation-funded and subscription-funded services have different failure modes: they can run out of money.
Naven has no advertising, no paid tier and no data sale, and is paid for by the person who builds it. That is a genuine limitation — it is one person — and it is stated rather than dressed up.