![]() They evaluated people’s responses and the overall setup against seven privacy-by-design principles, including the principle that apps should use the most secure option be default. They found that “rather than promoting choice” the different options available “have the potential to create confusion for users”. Researchers at University College London asked a small group of people (just 22 in total half had used the app before) to test Telegram’s chat features and then explain how its encryption worked. This mix of different chat types might not be that easy to understand. He added he wouldn’t “cripple” Telegram by making it end-to-end encrypted by default and removing other features such as channels. “The minority which doesn't want any of that and wants to maximise security at the expense of usability is welcome to use Secret Chats on Telegram – or install any of the apps that only have Secret Chats and nothing on top,” he wrote. “If you think you need a separate app for that feature only, installing it might make sense for you.”ĭurov also believes most people want more features rather than the greater levels of privacy end-to-end encryption offers. “Signal represents one feature of Telegram, which is Secret Chats,” Durov wrote on Telegram when questioned about why the app didn’t use end-to-end encryption by default. ![]() So why doesn’t Telegram use end-to-end encryption by default? Durov has argued it’s because Telegram is a “feature-rich” app. The Secret Chat function also stops messages being forwarded and has options for self-destructing messages. In a list of conversations, those that are end-to-end encrypted show a padlock symbol. When starting a message, Secret Chat needs to be selected and the person you are messaging has to be online. To turn on a Secret Chat you need to start a new message (even if you have previously messaged a contact in a non-encrypted way). These only work on one of your devices – if you start a Secret Chat on your phone it is only available there, it’s not stored in the cloud. Telegram does offer some limited end-to-end encryption for chats between two people. This also means that the messages you send are stored on its servers – the company says messages in cloud chats are “theoretically” accessible. Telegram’s cloud setup means that the company is able to show and sync your messages across desktop and smartphone apps in real time. Groups, channels, and one-to-one chats use its ‘cloud’ encryption while only Secret Chats between two individuals use end-to-end encryption. Telegram says it uses two types of encryption for content sent on its platform: cloud-based and end-to-end. So what does Telegram’s encryption look like? But it's only messaging within Secret Chats where end-to-end encryption is available. (Voice calls and video calls are end-to-end encrypted by default, the company says). Chats between individuals are, of course, also possible and the app features video calls and group voice conversations as well. Telegram also has group chats, which can have a maximum of 200,000 members and largely work in the same way as group chats on other messaging platforms. Bloomberg’s official channel (with more than 84,000 subscribers) pushes out the latest news, while an unofficial xkcd channel posts comics straight after they’re published. ![]() ![]() Everyone can see the messages and the channel essentially acts as a feed of posts from administrators (comments can be turned on but they’re largely used for broadcasting messages). In channels, which can be public or private and have an unlimited number of members, administrators send out messages to everyone that has subscribed. These can involve thousands of people at once and are different from the one-to-one chats and group conversations that are primarily used by its rivals.Ī core part of Telegram are its “one-to-many” broadcast channels. Within Telegram there are a few different types of messaging options. To understand why Telegram isn’t end-to-end encrypted by default, you need to look at how the app works. If you recently made the switch to Telegram, here’s what you need to know about its encryption. Facebook is currently in the process of changing its infrastructure so all chats on Instagram and Facebook Messenger use end-to-end encryption and Zoom made it available on video calls following a privacy backlash in October 2020. End-to-end encryption is becoming the norm on messaging services. Since WhatsApp turned on end-to-end encryption by default for more than a billion people in 2016, there’s been an increase in the use of the technology to protect people’s privacy.
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