What to know about Telegram’s privacy and security

Founded in 2013 by Pavel and Nikolai Durov, Telegram is a cloud-based encrypted messaging service with over 400 million users. Through its purported security and strict adherence to principles of censorship resistance and privacy, the Telegram messenger app has become a popular choice for individuals seeking secure communication channels, much to the dismay of governments and regimes around the world.

The company made waves when it announced that it was building a blockchain and cryptocurrency system, called the telegram

Open Network, or TON. The project sought to address the scalability bottlenecks of existing blockchains and integrate TON into its 400-million-plus user base. In early 2018, the project raised $1.7 billion through several rounds of private sales in an initial coin offering.

As the largest crowd sale in the space to date, TON quickly caught the attention of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. When the network was about to launch, the SEC halted the distribution of TON’s GRAM tokens to investors, citing the assets as an unregistered securities offering and questioning Telegram’s intent given that the Durov brothers had essentially been funding the platform without baking in any revenue model.

The TON codebase has since become open-source, with other initiatives picking up the torch.

The SEC vs. Telegram case has vast implications for the future of cryptocurrency regulation moving forward.

Telegram is a popular cross-platform messaging app that is widely used because it offers some enhanced privacy and encryption features as well as support for large group chat features. It also has no ties to other social media platforms (both Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are owned by Facebook, for example), which makes the service more appealing to some.

The app is multiplatform, with versions of the app available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux. You can also access the Telegram from a web browser.

Telegram’s signature feature is its end-to-end encryption, but it’s important to be aware that not all communication within Telegram has this level of privacy. Most messages use client-to-server encryption, which is less secure than end-to-end, but allows you to access your Telegram chats from other devices, including the web.

For true end-to-end encryption, you need to use Telegram’s Secret Chat feature. These secret chats offer substantially more robust security, but are only accessible from the device you originated the message on.

Telegram’s privacy and security is considered trustworthy in part because the service’s API is open-source and available for evaluation and integration by any developer.

Telegram was created with a view to challenging the primacy of WhatsApp. It differs from the latter in allowing users to access accounts from multiple devices, and Telegram has focused on being the anti-Facebook in terms of encryption and regulations. Its makers claim that its multi-data centre infrastructure and encryption makes it more secure than its Facebook-owned rival.

Telegram uses an open API, and welcomes developers to create their own Telegram apps. Samsung took advantage of this, launching Socializer Messenger in 2015.

Developers are also invited to create bots and users can create sticker sets. As well as sending messages, users can subscribe to ‘channels’, which allow creators to send messages to subscribers.

Telegram does not sell ads, stating that the access to personal data gained by advertisers would go against its ethos. Funding thus far comes privately from Pavel Durov. It has stated that it would turn to user donations or a freemium model to raise revenue if necessary. In its own words, “Making profits will never be an end-goal for Telegram.”

Telegram operates in relatively secrecy, and emphasises its commitment to freedom from market pressures as well as from any nationally-imposed constraints. This has made it a very popular tool in certain parts of the world, with over 500 million monthly active users.

We have collected data and statistics on Telegram. Read on below to find out more.

In general, Telegram is as safe or safer than most other chat apps. It could be argued that WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption on all messaging is a better approach, but the company’s ties to Facebook may turn off privacy advocates.

Plus, if you’re using the “secret chats” feature, you’re getting the same level of end-to-end encryption. On top of this, users can’t forward or screenshot messages in secret chats, and messages can be programmed to self-destruct. Deleting a message also deletes it for everyone on the service, and users have the option to delete not just their own messages, but other users’ messages, too. It’s also worth mentioning that all chats are encrypted, even if not end-to-end encrypted.

Read also: How to protect your privacy using Android

Another thing to keep in mind is that selling your data isn’t at the core of Telegram’s business model. According to Telegram’s FAQ page, the company is funded by its founder and CEO Pavel Durov, not through advertising or data collection and sharing.

On the same page, Telegram also lists one of its two tenets of internet privacy as “protecting your personal data from third parties, such as marketers, advertisers, etc.” That puts it in stark contrast to a myriad of services from Facebook, Google, Amazon, and others.

Ultimately though, using Telegram doesn’t necessarily mean your messages are more private or secure than when using WhatsApp or other messaging apps. Server-side data leaks can still happen, and no amount of encryption will help if your end device is already compromised.