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Content index
Telegram, caratteristiche principali
for Android
for iOS
for Windows, Linux and macOS
accessible from Browsers
Open source partial, only clients and not servers are
Free with some paid parts
complete messaging app that can also replace a social network thanks to the presence of channels, groups and bots
Zero-knowledge encryption can be activated manually
there are many different applications to use it
it is mandatory to use their servers
there End-to-end encryption it is not enabled by default and is, indeed, complex to find and inconvenient to use
Here we are, as promised, at also talk about Telegram after describing how it works Delta Chat, Signal, Briar And Matrix. As you know, we are trying to dedicate some individual articles to the most important and best-known applications to help you better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each and thus be able to choose your favorite program independently.
We admit that talking about Telegram is however very complex and feelings of love and hate, practicality of use and much more are constantly mixed. However, as always, we will try to make the review as objective as possible.
What is Telegram
Let's start by saying that Telegram is definitely much more than a simple messaging application. Thousands of different worlds live within Telegram: it is possible to create gods channels private or public, groups of up to 200,000 members 1 or small and private. Bots can be created 2 that can do practically anything (you can also find ours). Among the many things that can be done there is also the possibility of chat with a person without knowing their phone number but only his nickname.
Everything listed above is not end-to-end encrypted, including individual chats with people. By default it will all be in the cloud and available immediately on any device when you log in. This doesn't mean that's all clearly And easily accessible by whoever administers the server because, again according to Telegram obviously, the data is distributed across multiple data centers in the world which in turn are under different jurisdictions. The decryption keys are divided into parts and never kept together 3. It must be said that as far as we know, nothing different from what was declared has ever been found.
And the End-to-end encryption?
The messages on Telegram are all in the cloud for ease of use 4. If Telegram is so beautiful, easy, fast, practical and convenient to use, it is mainly due to this. However, there is the possibility of creating a chat with End-to-end encryption with a single person.
This possibility, however, is quite hidden: it can only be done from a smartphone and to be able to create a new end-to-end encrypted chat you must click on a person's nickname, then press the three dots in the menu at the top right and then press on Start secret chat 5. For these chats, a protocol developed by Telegram itself is used, MTProto 2.0 which has passed audits 6 and there are no problems of any kind.
Unlike everything else, secret chats are not saved on Telegram servers 7 and here's why you won't find them on all clients but only on the one where you started the chat. It's a real shame, in our opinion, that they are pushed so little by the Telegram team.
Telegram problems
Beyond the very few technical problems ever related to Telegram 8 9, the problems related to Telegram are mainly ethical.
Using Telegram creates the classic fenced garden (you can use other apps but you are forced to use Telegram servers), it does not promote free software (even if this as we have already explained it's not a security problem as is sometimes implied) and Telegram potentially makes a huge hoard of data thanks to its cloud even if it says it doesn't use it for any ulterior motive 10.
Telegram recently launched the Telegram Premium service promising more bandwidth and some benefits 11 and began promoting advertising in the channels 12 without the owners of the channel being able to do anything about it and this creates confusion: it has already happened that someone asked us why we sponsored cryptocurrencies, but it was Telegram advertising. We had nothing to do with it.
Illegal groups
As you surely already know, countless illegal groups are born and present on Telegram: from piracy 13 to child pornography 14.
Recently Telegram seems open to collaboration for some crimes 15 but despite this there are still far too many groups free to express verbal violence and more 16 17 and which fill the web with dangerous fake news 18 19.
We know well that technology is neither good nor bad but it is its use that is, however Telegram seems to have little interest in seriously solving this problem at its root.
Durov, the billionaire philanthropist
Finally, it is good to remember that Durov is a billionaire 20 which hardly works for the sole good of the community: the more you use Telegram, the more you get entangled in it and the more difficult it will be get out.
As you probably already know when it comes to messaging applications and social networks we are strong supporters of decentralization and of federation. When programs concern a community, and not a single person's use (for example, cloud storage) it is important for us not to end up from one billionaire to another.
For this reason we generally propose to use, for individual chats or small groups Delta Chat, Matrix, Jamie or XMPP.
Third-party applications
One of the best features of Telegram is the freedom to develop third-party applications that communicate with the central server. This has meant that there is a real proliferation of applications for Telegram. Be careful though: some studies have highlighted that many of these applications potentially have some security problems and that some things, such as End-to-end encryption, they may not be implemented properly, creating potential problems for the entire Telegram ecosystem, including the official applications 21.
In this regard: the official version of Telegram is distributed both on Play Store which through APK with automatic updates downloadable directly from their site. These versions unfortunately depend on Google services for notifications and sending the location requires Google Maps to be installed on your smartphone. A decidedly unpleasant request towards those who are there degoogling your smartphone and certainly has no intention of installing Google Maps!
This can be overcome by using some clients that replace Google Maps with OpenStreetMap such as Telegram FOSS.
Conclusions
In our opinion, Telegram is not necessarily bad, it could become bad if used as a chat for private communication, especially if secret chats are not used. It is an excellent social network, a good meeting place for people who don't know each other in person and an exceptional working tool for some companies thanks to the channels and live chats 22.
However, as already mentioned previously, if the need is to speak with a single person or with a small group of people, who perhaps even know each other in person, we recommend other safer tools and where the End-to-end encryption is enabled by default as Delta Chat, Matrix, Jamie or XMPP. These tools, although different from each other, allow you not to remain closed in yet another fenced garden and allow you to have greater freedom.
Anonymous messaging apps
In case you need an anonymous messaging application, and by anonymous we mean that you won't be asked for any email or mobile number to chat, we created some time ago this ad hoc article which might be useful to you.
• • • • • • •- General Questions[↩]
- Bots[↩]
- Do you process data requests?[↩]
- Why Isn't Telegram End-to-End Encrypted by Default?[↩]
- Secret Chats[↩]
- Automated Symbolic Verification of Telegram's MTProto 2.0[↩]
- 3.3.2. Secret Chats[↩]
- Telegram publishes users' locations online[↩]
- Audit of the first version of the MTProto protocol[↩]
- 3. What Personal Data We Use[↩]
- Frequently asked questions about Telegram Premium[↩]
- Du Rove's Channel[↩]
- Telegram under observation: more than 300 channels censored for piracy[↩]
- Maxi operation against child pornography on Telegram: arrests throughout Italy, seizures in Puglia[↩]
- Telegram hält sich neuerdings an Gesetze, zumindest ein bisschen[↩]
- The human misery of chauvinism and violence also travels on Telegram groups | Archive[↩]
- Telegram channels where intimate photos and videos are shared without consent have doubled | Archive[↩]
- With fake news, a virtual pandemic causes real victims | Archive[↩]
- Telegram channels and conspiracy bloggers. This is how Sputnik and Russia Today circumvent sanctions | Archive[↩]
- Telegram founder Pavel Durov is the richest Russian billionaire in 2021[↩]
- On the Cryptographic Fragility of the Telegram Ecosystem[↩]
- Live Streaming, Flexible Forwarding, Skip to Next Channel and Featured Sticker[↩]
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