I have tried signals, telegrams, whatsapp, and this is what I recommend

Key Points:

telegram While it doesn’t offer robust privacy features as a signal, there are some features that can make the app attractive to some people.

telegram It is a cloud-based messaging service that stores data that needs to work. Telegram also writes that it collects and stores some of the metadata, such as IP addresses. The company said it would change its privacy policy in 2024 to share some of its data with law enforcement if requested.

“We have made it clear that the IP address and telephone number of the person who violated our rules can be disclosed to the relevant authorities upon valid legal requests.” Pavel DurovCEO of Telegram, posted in September.

The change is appropriately telegram According to Telegram’s own In-App Transparency Report, it met 900 requests for information from US authorities in 2024, affecting 2,253 people.

If Telegram could hand over data to law enforcement, the company has suffered from data breaches that have put that information in the hands of others for many years. in 2020, For example, around 42 million Iranian telegram users leaked data online. in 2019Telegram bugs were exploited by Chinese institutions to expose the identity of Hong Kong protesters.

If you’re still interested in Telegram, the key difference between IT and other messaging apps like Signal is that it acts as a messaging board for large groups, just like Discord. It offers public channels to spread news about video games, news, sports and more. in @entternationment channelFor example, you can find trailers and posters for new movies and TV shows.

but, Public Channel That’s how it’s end-to-end not encrypted. telegram Everything posted to public channels and public groups is encrypted in transport and storage to the server, but these public channels are accessible to everyone on Telegram, so no encryption key is required. So, if you are the owner or administrator of a channel, that channel’s posting is like a public record.

Telegram’s Secret Chat offers end-to-end encryption, but caution is required. These chats are restricted Device of originis well known as your phone.

“This way, you can make sure your phone is always safe as long as it’s safe in your pocket,” writes Telegram.

However, this also means that you cannot use Secret Chat on the desktop or browser version of Telegram. Therefore, these chats can be intercepted and read by people who are not intended recipients.

Telegram provides automatic message deletion, but the minimum interval you can choose is one day per day, unlike signals that allow you to set up messages to be deleted after a few minutes or seconds. Telegram also offers an interesting self-destructive feature that removes accounts, messages and contacts after a certain amount of inactive time between 1-24 months.

Telegram’s client apps are open source, such as signals, and CNET’s senior editor Moe Long said that open source apps can provide transparency and allow people to code check for vulnerabilities. but, Durov I posted in 2021 that the server code is not open source.

“You don’t even need server-side code to check the integrity of your secret chat. No matter how the server works (that’s the whole point). Telecommunications. Privacy Policy The company’s cloud servers are also encrypted, saying, “the encryption key in each case is stored in several other data centers in different jurisdictions.” This means that employees in either data center do not have the information there to encrypt the data.

It is not uncommon to have closed source server code to protect intellectual property, security, or other means. However, we trust our company to protect the data on these servers. a Third Party Audit Even if an audit can capture that information for a snapshot in time, it can help to strengthen its trust by ensuring that the data center functions as intended.

Long said that Telegram’s end-to-end encryption would somewhat mitigate Telegram’s closed-source server code, as the message remains secure until it is decrypted on the recipient’s device. But it may not completely protect your data.

“Even with end-to-end encryption, we can still collect some of the metadata,” Long said.

Telegram is free, but offers paid tiers ($5 a month or $36 a year) to access more features. These features include no unlimited cloud storage, animated emojis, or ads in public telegram channels. Public channel ads with over 1,000 subscribers With a telegram.

Telegram’s selective encrypted messaging, but large chat is a good alternative to services like Discord. Audio and Video Calls. However, please be aware that some data is collected even if you are not using secret chat.

You can download Telegram from Apple’s App Store or Google Play Keep it free of charge.