What’s so special about Telegram?
This cloud-based messaging app announced on 24th April 2020 that it had reached 400 million monthly active users. This is nowhere near the 1 billion active users announced by WhatsApp in 2017 — its last report. But it is still an enormous number. So what’s it got that WhatsApp hasn’t?
While both apps have similar features such as picture-in-picture viewing, Telegram’s tighter privacy options and vast cloud storage facility do appeal to many.
Secrecy is key
The app’s end-to-end encryption feature allows users to set a time frame within which messages self-destruct. Telegram users also receive notifications where screenshots are taken of a message and the secret chat cannot be forwarded. Though many other messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal offer end-to-end encryption options, they only ensure that others are not able to access the contents of your conversation directly.
In reality, each message you send leaves behind a digital footprint called metadata, and all this metadata information reveals the sender and recipient of each encrypted message, as well as when it was sent. So, while the exact contents are encrypted, it is still possible for others to see who a user has been contacting when they contacted them, and for how long.
This isn’t the case with Telegram. Messages are automatically deleted when the timer hits making it practically impossible to hack, which explains why it’s been used extensively (and subsequently banned) in China, Russia and Iran.
Vast storage and increased practicality
Telegram also scores more highly than WhatsApp when it comes to storage. In fact, nothing else can really compete. On Telegram, all your text messages, images, media files, and documents are saved on their cloud. You can log out and log in any number of times from any number of devices simultaneously without losing any data, and you don’t need to worry about backing up.
You can download any file any time anywhere, and while group capacity is around 200, once the limit has been reached, you can form SuperGroups of about 5000 people.
A safe place to communicate
While no messaging app can guarantee a 100% impermeable defense, Telegram has the fewest vulnerabilities. As a result, it continues to be a thorn in the side of authoritarian governments around the world.
Available for Android, Windows phone, Windows PC, Mac, Linux, and many other browsers, the next decade may well see WhatsApp users cross over to Telegram, especially as personal privacy and security become ever more important factors in our lives.
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