The Trump administration's ban of Tencent's WeChat app from US app stores due to national security concerns related to China was temporarily blocked by a federal judge on Sunday. The ruling came as part of a lawsuit filed in August by a group of WeChat users who argued that Trump's ban was unconstitutional. 

"While the general evidence about the threat to national security related to China (regarding technology and mobile technology) is considerable, the specific evidence about WeChat is modest," the judge wrote. 

Even if Trump's ban was put in place, if you'd already downloaded WeChat, you could still use the messaging, social media and mobile payment app without penalty, according to a US Justice Department court filing. However, the US servers carrying your data would no longer work, so sending a message or a photo would have to go through one overseas -- meaning it would take a lot longer to send or receive anything. It wouldn't have been a complete shutdown, but it would likely have make your experience much more frustrating. 

While WeChat isn't a household name in the US, it's a massive social network with more than 1.2 billion monthly active users. Because it's such a widely used app, many Americans use WeChat to keep in touch with friends and family overseas -- particularly in China. People often turn to the app because it gets around pricey international fees for traditional phone calls and text messages. 

Until the legal situation is sorted out, here are a few WeChat alternatives that you can switch to for your messaging needs -- many of which have a strong presence internationally. A caveat: Most of these apps, including Facebook Messenger, Line, WhatsApp and Telegram, are banned in China. 

For more, you can read our explainer about what's been going on with TikTok in the US. You can also check out our list of the best free video chat apps.