Is Telegram safe? We tell you everything

telegram security

In recent times, the instant messaging application Telegram has been gaining new followers to become the great rival of Whatsapp. However, there are still many doubts about the privacy guarantees offered by this application. Is Telegram safe? We will try to answer that question in the following paragraphs.

The spectacular success of WhatsApp around the world had led us to believe that there was no alternative to its height. And so it was for some time. However, everything changed as a result of privacy concerns related to sharing data with Facebook. This encouraged many WhatsApp users to try other chat platforms, including Telegram, which by early 2001 had reached the not inconsiderable figure of 500 million users.

Practically the only thing that has stopped users from going en masse to Telegram is the question of security and privacy. And the thing is that there has been a lot of information (some true, others false) on this particular issue. That is why all the doubts have revolved around this question: Is Telegram safe?

What is Telegram?

Although almost everyone already knows this application, or at least has heard a lot about it, it does not hurt to review some aspects: what is its origin and why it has become so popular.

The creators of Telegram are the Russian brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov, who presented the application in August 2013. Despite that, the real success came relatively recently. One of the main reasons is its long list of functionalities:

  • Groups (public or private), with administrator profiles with very specific permissions and options to pin messages at the top of the chat, among other tools.
  • Outdated, which are different spaces from the groups. They serve to broadcast messages to large audiences, although their capacity to host subscribers is unlimited.
  • Chats that self-destruct. Telegram allows you to create messages that are automatically deleted within seconds of being received.
  • Cloud storage using encryption.
  • Bots that allow the user to access information much more efficiently.
  • Stickers, which can be customized and shared.

All these functionalities are very practical, but they would remain in the background if there were no good security measures for their users.

Encryption and cloud storage

it is safe telegram

What are the security systems that Telegram uses?

Unlike some of its direct competitors, such as Signal, Telegram does not apply end-to-end encryption by default (end-to-end or E2E) in your messages. This system prevents any message intercepted by a third party from being impossible to decipher.

However, there is a way to activate Telegram so that it does use that encryption system. You just have to use the "secret chat" option.

All in all, Telegram maintains that its double chat system it is the safest solution for your widely used application. Switch between cloud chats and secret chats, thereby protecting all types of users. The basis of this security method is an encrypted cloud storage system, which in turn is based on server-client encryption, called MTProto encryption. Let's see how it works:

MTProto encryption

The MTProto layer (whose current version MTProto 2.0 has been tested and praised for its high security standard) is based on server-client encryption and consists of three independent components:

  • First, a high-level component A that defines the process by which API (application programming interface) queries and responses are converted to binary messages.
  • One second cryptographic component (called authorization layer), to define the encryption mode of the messages before moving on to the next component.
  • Finally, a transportation component, which defines the way in which the client and the server transmit messages using different network protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, UDP, TCP, etc).

It is fair to point out that the cloud storage it also has its downsides. While it is true that, by storing all the content of the application in the cloud, it is accessible from any device, it is also true that the control over the information that is shared is less. And this represents a potential security risk.

Username

Another safety feature to mention is that of the Username. Also at this point Telegram works differently from other instant messaging applications. Instead of showing our phone number, as users of the app if we want we can simply show our username. This gives us better control over what information is available and how people can contact us in the future.

How does Telegram process the data of its users?

telegram app

Many users of the application wonder if Telegram is safe and how their personal data is processed

The spam and abuse prevention protocol that Telegram uses involves collecting information such as IP addresses, device details, history of username changes, and other sensitive data. This data is stored for a maximum of 12 months before being deleted. 

We must also take into account the role of Telegram moderators. They can read standard chat messages marked "spam" and "abuse". This is a common sense practice, although it also implies that someone is reading our messages.

Finally, the application can also store Metadata added for a more personalized experience.

None of this is new (or overly worrisome) in today's digital environment. However, it is important that Telegram users know how Telegram processes their users' data before we launch to share certain information.

In addition, there is still another question to be asked: With whom does Telegram share the stored data? In section 8 of its Telegram Privacy Policy, under the heading "With whom your personal data may be shared", the application specifies that it reserves the right to disclose our IP address and telephone number to the relevant authorities. But let no one be alarmed: this would only happen in the case where the company received a court order indicating that a user is suspected of terrorism. Only in that specific case.

For our peace of mind, on its FAQ page, Telegram explains that one of its privacy principles on the Internet is to "protect your personal data from third parties, such as marketers, advertisers, etc." That makes a big difference to most services offered by Facebook, Google, Amazon, and others.

Cryptocontest: the Telegram security contest

crypto contest telegram

To convince its users that Telegram is safe, the application has organized several security contests or cryptocontests.

Something that security advocates applaud about Telegram is that anyone with enough experience can check out the application's source code, protocol, and API. And even if it is not open source software, the degree of transparency is considerable.

The interesting thing about all this is that Any user can test the security of Telegram. Anyone with sufficient technical knowledge can verify for themselves that the Telegram code posted on GitHub is identical to the code that powers the applications that you download available on the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

So sure are the creators of the application of its high security standard that recently they even dared to summon a contest to decrypt Telegram encryption, popularly known as cryptocontest. Whoever was able to decipher the Telegram messages by skipping the controls could aspire to win a prize of $ 300.000. To date, no one has succeeded (that is known).

Smaller rewards are also offered if a suggestion results in a code or configuration change.

Conclusion

There is a heated debate on the net about whether Telegram is really more secure than WhatsApp, Signal and the rest of its competitors. Without going into more specific aspects, it can be broadly stated that, thanks to its multi-level encryption system, Telegram user data has an additional layer of security. And that, no matter how you look at it, is a great advantage and generates a lot of peace of mind.

A separate issue is the question of confidentiality. It is a chimera to aspire to total privacy, since in the digital world everything is increasingly controlled by international laws. Everything is susceptible to being "spied on" by the administrations, as long as there is a real justification, of course.

So is Telegram XNUMX% safe? It would be misleading to say that it is, because there is nothing in the online world that is totally secure. What can be said is that this application offers a good balance between popularity and security, being a very interesting alternative for those who compare the different messaging applications.

In short: taking the correct basic security precautions, Telegram is a perfect application to connect with our friends, family and clients. But the best thing is to download it and do the test yourself.


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