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Messaging apps are used frequently in the IM community for informal communication.  

• MS Teams - OCHA IM group on MS Teams officially launched in July 2022 during the COPE workshop in Istanbul. OCHA IMOs who would like to be part of this group need to fill out the survey on OCHA IM app. OCHA IM group on Skype will be kept open for former OCHA IMOs however OCHA IM teams will be used to communicate future announcements and experience sharing among OCHA IMOs.

• Signal - To address growing concerns of data privacy issues, OICT has reviewed and endorsed the use of the Signal app for the communication of sensitive information. Unlike some of the other available services used by UN Secretariat personnel, Signal is geared toward privacy and security. It provides similar functionality to other common instant messaging applications such as, group chats, voice and video calls, while protecting a user’s privacy and encrypting communications sent and received.

• Skype is a free messaging app that is used extensively within the humanitarian IM community. Many countries have IM groups and there are many global groups, including:

GRP: OCHA IM - is an informal, internal community of practice for OCHA IMOs both in the field and at HQ. Managed by FIS
GRP Inter Agency IM - an informal community of practice for humanitarian IMOs from all agencies

• WhatsApp is used more commonly in the Latin American and the Caribbean and Asia-Pacific regions.  

It is good to keep in mind that although these are informal groups comments are seen by many and all conversations should remain polite, respectful and on topic.