Telegram is becoming a more popular messaging app but is it really worth using? This Telegram review will go over good and bad aspects of this service. Even though it has some good privacy options, an investigation done in Germany showed that Telegram shares data with governments.
When it comes to secure messaging apps, there are a lot of options to choose from. But in this Telegram review, we’ll look at the privacy and security offered by the service to help you decide if this is the right choice for you.
Telegram is a free app that is growing in popularity. However, before you sign up, you should consider all your options. When it comes to privacy and security, Telegram offers a lot of features that make it a secure choice for messaging.
Table of Contents
Telegram messenger features
There are a few key features to consider when deciding if Telegram is the right messaging app for you:
- All of the code for the open source parts of Telegram is available on GitHub.
- Telegram has apps for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Mac OS, Windows, Linux, and popular browsers.
- In excess of 500,000 active users.
We downloaded and tested Telegram desktop and mobile apps for this review.
Telegram company background information
Telegram Messenger was created by the Durov brothers in 2013. With million active users, it is one of the most popular messaging apps in world. This company is headquartered in London, with the development team in Dubai. Pavel Durov has donated funds to support the company.
Where is your Telegram data stored?
Telegram has a hybrid system that allows you to choose where your data is stored. All your message data is stored on your devices. However, you can remove this data from your local cache and store it on טלגראס קישור servers. This way, you can balance your privacy against the need for data storage space. Telegram’s servers are located throughout the world.
Telegram third-party testing and audits
Telegram has noted that “multiple researchers and security experts have analyzed Telegram’s encryption” in an email to us. However, we were not able to find any formal security audit or analysis that was conducted by a cybersecurity firm – something that other popular secure messenger services have in contrast.
Telegram messenger hands-on testing
For the purposes of this Telegram review, I used the Telegram mobile app for Android, as well as the Windows Desktop app.
Telegram Android app
For this Telegram review, I used the Telegram mobile app for Android as well as the Windows Desktop app. I found that Telegram really focuses on mobile experience and requires you to join the service using a mobile device before you can use a browser or Desktop. So, for this review, we’ll concentrate on the mobile side of things first.
Additional Telegram app features
Telegram is more than just a messaging app – it has a number of interesting and useful features that make it perfect for groups, protesters, and anyone who wants to stay connected.
Groups: With the ability to support up to 200,000 members per group, Telegram group chats were instrumental in helping protesters get organized during the mega-protests of 2019. Telegram’s channels feature allows you to send messages to an unlimited number of users, which came in handy during the Hong Kong protests. You can now also view detailed statistics about who is viewing your channel.
Instant View is a system that lets you view articles from the web in a consistent way, with zero loading time. If you receive a link to an article via Telegram, you can tap the Instant View button to instantly see a version of the page that has been optimized for viewing in Telegram.