Telegram vs Whatsapp: A Comparison
Telegram has skilled unprecedented progress over the previous few years. This is principal because the app is thought-about privacy-friendly in comparison with its bigger rival, Whatsapp. Whatsapp — a Meta-owned firm — has come below scrutiny lately as a result of tweaks to its privacy coverage.
Unlike Whatsapp, Telegram just isn’t owned by any main expertise firm, and consumer privateness is at the core of the corporate’s ethos.
Here are some measures Telegram takes to maintain its consumer’s knowledge non-public.
- Encryption (secret chat): Feature for end-to-end encryption on your chats
- Deleting total message threads: The skill to delete not solely yours, but different individuals’s messages from each gadget
- Self-destructing chats: Auto-deleting chats after a pre-set period
- Screen lock: Lock the app with a passcode or fingerprint
- Hide your cellphone quantity: Hide your cellphone quantity from all customers
- Two-factor authentication: Lock the app with a second password
Whatsapp has related options that stack up fairly effectively, although its privacy coverage isn’t fairly as clear and easy as Telegrams. Below learn our full article and resolve which one of many two works for you.
In current years, there was a rush amongst customers to uncover the most privacy-friendly messaging app available on the market. This goes to indicates that customers should not be solely involved concerning the fundamental performance of an immediate messaging app — corresponding to sending messages, movies, photos, or making video calls — but additionally concerning the privacy and safety of their knowledge while doing so.
In this text, we check out Telegram vs. WhatsApp and uncover which one is extra non-public. We delve into every app and into the performance and privacy options adopted by them to maintain consumer knowledge non-public.
What is Telegram?
Telegram is a cross-platform immediate messaging app that focuses on consumer privacy. It was based on Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai in 2013. The firm is registered within the British Virgin Islands, which is nice information for the privacy-minded. It can be open-source, which means all of the code associated with it may be scrutinized and verified by safety specialists and most people.
The privacy-friendly messaging app is free for customers and is funded by billionaire founder and present CEO, Pavel Durov. This is a part of Telegram’s ethos to hold the corporate unbiased and never reliant on any main tech firm.
In addition, in 2020, Telegram launched Telegram premium to spice up income. Telegram premium is a paid model of the app that provides further options. These options embody however should not restrict to:
- No advertisements
- 4 Gb add restrict
- Unique stickers
- Badges and icons
- Animated stickers & profile photos
- Faster obtain pace
Telegram is on the market for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS gadgets. Telegram, nevertheless, doesn’t have end-to-end encryption for all its messages like WhatsApp.
What is WhatsApp?
WhatsApp is the largest free immediate messaging app and is utilized by billions of individuals all internationally. The app is owned by Meta, which owns Facebook.
Unlike Telegram, all messages despatched by WhatsApp customers are end-to-end encrypted. However, after an announcement that permits WhatsApp to share consumer knowledge with guardian firm Meta, customers have been left questioning the platform’s privacy coverage.
The app is solely free with no advertisements on the platform. But, being owned by Meta, customers should not be positive about the info collected and shared with Facebook, and to what extent it’s used.
In 2021, WhatsApp launched its first advertising campaign to try to quell privacy considerations.
Telegram vs. WhatsApp – Which Has the Bigger User Base?
Telegram is among the quickest-rising and most downloaded apps. According to the Telegram website, the app has over 700 million energetic month-to-month customers and was within the high 5 of probably the most downloaded apps in 2022. The variety of month-to-month energetic customers has seen a rise of over 150 million customers since 2021.
On the opposite hand, WhatsApp is the most important immediate messaging app on the earth and has over 2 billion customers as of 2021, with an estimated 100 billion messages despatched throughout the platform day by day. This has given WhatsApp an edge over Telegram as a result of most customers being on WhatsApp, therefore having a tough time changing to different messaging platforms and leaving their acquaintances behind.
Telegram vs. WhatsApp – Which Has More Features?
Both apps are immediate messaging companies that supply fundamental options corresponding to chats, calls, profile photos, photographs, movies, emojis, and rather more. However, some options have been improved by these chat apps, as famous under.
| Features | Telegram | |
|---|---|---|
| End-to-end encryption | “Secret chats” only | All chats |
| Group Capacity | Up to 200,000 members | Up to 512 members |
| File Compression | Requests permission | Compresses automatically |
| Storage | Unlimited server storage | Mobile storage |
| Transfer Limit | 2 GB data transfer limit | 100 MB data transfer limit |
| Voice Calls | Unlimited number of participants | Up to 8 participants |
| Video Calls | Up to 30 participants | Up to 8 participants |
| Bots | Available for all users | For business accounts only |
| Premium features | Available | Not available |
Considering the variety of members allowed on calls and chats, and that Telegram provides the choice of end-to-end encryption by secret chats, we expect they’ve taken the lead general within the options division.
How Secure Are Telegram and WhatsApp? Six Important Security Features
Telegram is taken into account as a privacy-friendly app. Below we dive into some key security measures that make it so and see how WhatsApp compares.
Encryption (‘Secret Chat’)
The secret chat characteristic on Telegram permits whole privateness by encrypting messages from finish to finish. These are just for one-on-one chats from supported gadgets (primarily solely cell at this level). This is a result of secret chats are not saved on the cloud and requiring everlasting storage on the machine. Something that Telegram Desktop and Telegram Web don’t help in the meanwhile.
With that stated, secret chat has further privacy-enhancing options corresponding to:
- Disappearing messages
- Can’t ahead chats
- Permanent chat deletion on Telegrams’ servers
Activate secret chats on Telegram
If you’d like to make use of the key chat choice on Telegram, observe these steps:
- Open the Telegram app on your cellphone.
- Tap on the individual you wish to begin a Secret chat with.
- At the highest, faucets are on their consumer title.
- Click on the three dots on the highest proper nook.
- Tap on “Start Secret Chat” from the drop-down menu.
- Confirm you wish to begin a secret chat with the individual.
How Whatsapp stacks up: Encryption
Unlike Telegram, WhatsApp’s encryption is end-to-end for all its chats. Which makes it a safe messaging app for its customers by default. The service additionally presents disappearing messages and media, which we talk about later.
Though Telegram’s secret chat characteristic is superb, because you’ve acquired to make use of it particularly, we lean towards WhatsApp in this division.
Is Telegram Messenger Secure Is It More Secure Than WhatsApp
Deleting different individuals’ messages
Telegram presents an intriguing (if not controversial) characteristic that permits customers to delete messages in a dialog from each side. Telegram’s CEO says it’s for a good purpose. He explains that relationships and friendships come and go, however sadly, customers can enter these saved messages long after the fact.
For this purpose, he stated it’s a good suggestion for customers to have whole management over their conversations on messaging platforms.
Delete a complete chat from each side
Here’s the right way to delete a dialog/message on Telegram, both yours, your acquaintances, or total chats.
- Open the Telegram app on your cellphone.
- Tap on the dialog you’d wish to delete chats from.
- To delete a complete chat, the faucet is on the three dots on the top-right of the display.
- Tap “Delete chat.”
- In the popup, test the field “Also delete for …” to delete the chat for them too.
- To delete a particular message for each side, lengthy press on the message you’d wish to delete (whether or not you despatched it or your counterpart).
- Once highlighted, click on the bin that pops up on the top-right aspect of the display.
- In the popup, test the field that you just wish to delete for the opposite individual too.
- Tap “Delete chat.”
How WhatsApp stacks up: Chat deletion
WhatsApp means that you can delete your chats on your machine in addition to different customers’ gadgets. However, not like Telegram, you possibly can solely delete chats for yourself and different customers inside a sure time-frame of around an hour. After that, you’ll not be capable of deleting your messages on different customers’ gadgets, but solely yours.
If you achieve deleting chats from each side in time, WhatsApp nonetheless leaves a clue that the message(s) was deleted. The freedom to fully erase each side of a chat, although a bit controversial, does permit an additional stage of privateness. We’ve acquired to provide it to Telegram only for the choice. Whether or not you wish to use it or have it utilized by somebody is as much as the consumer.
Self-destructing chats/media in common/secret chats
The self-destruct timer/ auto-delete characteristic is on the market for all Secret Chat messages and personal cloud chats on Telegram. It allows customers to set a pre-defined time for messages to be mechanically deleted or self-destructed.
Telegram’s auto-delete characteristic presents a variety of pre-set time ranges to select from. You can select for a message to self-destruct after a day of being despatched, as much as 12 months.
How WhatsApp stacks up: Self-destructing messages
WhatsApp messenger has an analogous characteristic that may be enabled in non-public or group chat settings. However, it doesn’t supply a wide range of pre-set instances for messages to vanish, in comparison with Telegram. For occasion, on WhatsApp, the set time for messages to vanish can be after 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.
Screen lock
Despite utilizing secret chats in your communication, the fact stays that messages are accessible on your cellphone, together with secret chats. This means anybody in addition to you with entry to your cellphone can enter these messages.
To curb this, Telegram has a display lock characteristic that you could activate, which requires a fingerprint scan or passcode to enter Telegram. Here’s the right way to flip it on.
- Open the Telegram app on your cellphone.
- Click the three strains on the top-left aspect of the display.
- Tap on “Settings.”
- Tap on “Privacy and Security.”
- Under Security, click on “Passcode Lock.”
- Click “Enable Passcode” on the backside.
- Create a four-digit code that you just use to unlock your Telegram app.
- Re-enter the passcode on the following display.
- After that, you possibly can select to unlock along with your fingerprint.
- You may set the app to auto-lock after a pre-set period.
Voila! Your Telegram app is now passcode protected. Please be aware, that when you neglect your passcode, you’ll log off or reinstall the app. All secret chats shall be misplaced.
How WhatsApp stacks up: Screen lock
WhatsApp additionally presents an equivalent characteristic for password-protecting the app, though it has fewer time interval choices. Since these two options primarily supply identical performance, we will mark it as a tie.
Hide your cellphone number
Telegram requires you to present your cellphone quantity upon registration for the service. At the identical time, the service means that you can hold your cellphone quantity non-public by hiding it. By default, the one who can see your cellphone quantity is a contact whom you’ve saved on your cellphone.
Through Telegram settings, you possibly can select whom to share your cellphone quantity with. Here’s how:
- Open the Telegram app on your cellphone.
- Click the three strains on the top-left aspect of the display.
- Tap on “Settings.”
- Tap on “Privacy and Security.”
- Under Privacy, faucet on “Phone Number.”
- Under “Who can see my cellphone quantity?“, select “Nobody.”
We advocate setting this characteristic to “Nobody.” In this manner, your cellphone quantity stays fully nameless.
How WhatsApp stacks up: Hide your quantity
Unlike Telegram, WhatsApp requires customers to have their cellphone quantity to talk with you in the first place. This makes it tough to maintain your quantity non-public from different customers, so Telegram takes the win right here concerning privateness.
Two-factor authentication
Another solution to shield your messages from getting uncovered in case somebody’s positive aspects entry to your cellphone is by activating two-factor authentication (2FA), that’s obtainable on Telegram. Two-factor authentication helps you to add a second password entered after an SMS code, which you’ll want to make use of every time you log in to your Telegram account.
Here’s the right way to activate it:
- Open the Telegram app on your cellphone.
- Click the three strains on the top-left aspect of the display.
- Tap on “Settings.”
- Tap on “Privacy and Security.”
- Under Security, click on “Two-step verification.”
- Tap “Set Password.”
- Enter the password you wish to use.
- Re-enter your new password.
- Enter a touch to remind you of your password in case you neglect it (non-obligatory).
- Enter a restoration e-mail in case you neglect your password (non-obligatory).
- If you select to skip offering an e-mail, you’ll get a warning.
How WhatsApp stacks up: 2FA
WhatsApp additionally boasts two-factor authentication that provides additional safety on your chats by defending them from third-party snoopers and outsider login attempts. At this point, two-factor (or multi-factor) authentication is a safety important. We’d be slightly shocked to search out that both didn’t have some variation of this characteristic.
