With 900 million monthly active users, Telegram is the world’s most popular encrypted messaging app. Beloved by crypto users, tech workers, and regular consumers who simply value their privacy, the Telegram messenger app is a staple of digital communication.
There’s a lot to like about Telegram, from the absence of intrusive ads to the groups, channels, and secret messaging options it features. Impressive as Telegram is, it’s not the only private messaging app on the market. New contenders are emerging that promise greater privacy and decentralization than Telegram, alleviating some of the concerns associated with Telegram’s data-handling.
The Case for Considering Telegram Alternatives
Even if there were no disadvantages to using Telegram, it’s prudent to examine alternative options. Over-reliance on monopolistic entities – even those committed to privacy – is unwise. When the whole world uses a single messaging app, it creates a single point of failure. As Dr Mark Gregory, associate professor at RMIT University’s School of Engineering, said concerning the Crowdstrike IT bug that bricked millions of computers: “The reliance on centrally managed global software solutions can lead to significant security risks.”
While Telegram has a good track record compared to the likes of Facebook and Twitter in terms of not sharing user data with national governments and other third parties, it is not wholly secure. Only its secure chats are end-to-end encrypted: normal chats are not. Moreover, because Telegram holds decryption keys on its servers, they could theoretically be accessed by attackers. So what’s the alternative? Let’s consider three messenger apps that score well for privacy.
Session
Session is a decentralized messenger application that’s been designed with privacy paramount. It supports anonymous communication in the form of direct messages as well as voice calls. It also supports group chats and communities. Pretty much everything you can do on Telegram you can do on Session in other words.
There are a number of features that distinguish Session from Telegram however. For one thing it’s fully open source; for another it’s fully encrypted. Upon signing in to Session, a cryptographically secured Session ID is created. The app uses the same public-private key pair technology that’s used to secure blockchain wallets. The only way to decrypt messages is by possessing the private key which is on the user’s device. As a result, man-in-the-middle attacks are impossible.
In a side-by-side comparison, Session and Telegram have a lot of overlapping features, making it possible to migrate to Session without losing the core functionality that was the reason for using Telegram in the first place. Session scores slightly better for features according to SourceForge, while its decentralized architecture is sure to appeal to crypto natives who are accustomed to securing their net worth using the same technology. Overall, Session makes a good Telegram alternative for users who place an emphasis on privacy.
Signal
Signal is the best known private messaging app on the market, making it an obvious alternative to Telegram. While Signal scores highly for privacy and data handling, it’s commonly perceived as being a one-to-one messaging app rather than a medium for group communication. That’s a misconception: Signal can also support group chats, even if it doesn’t offer the same level or quality of features as the likes of Telegram and Session.
In a side-to-side comparison, Signal is available on less operating systems than Telegram. However, its iOS and Android app is well built and works reliably. Both Signal and Telegram support self-destructing messages, as they do stickers and GIFs. Signal offers end-to-end encryption and is highly regarded by the security company. That’s not to say there are no hypothetical attack vectors – researchers have revealed situations in which Signal could be compromised.
Overall, Signal can be regarded as more secure than Telegram but with a sparser feature set. The encryption software powering Signal is clearly documented, though unless you’re a cryptographic expert, you’ll struggle to glean how the different components interoperate. For large groups or channels, Telegram does it better but for small teams and individuals who cherish confidentiality, Signal is a solid alternative.
Wickr
Wickr is an encrypted messaging platform that’s designed for enterprises primarily. It supports group chats, teleconferencing, and file sharing. There are also various integrations for popular enterprise software formats. The app was founded by former government and military intelligence professionals, which makes it either more or less trustworthy than rival solutions depending on how you feel about national agencies.
Wickr uses end-to-end encryption, self-destruct messages, voice calling, and channels. It offers many of the same features as Telegram, but performs better in terms of available integrations. While available to individuals as well as businesses, Wickr remains an enterprise app first and foremost. It’s ideal for companies seeking to enhance their internal messaging to protect sensitive data without disrupting their existing workflows.
All three of the messenger apps profiled here are viable Telegram alternatives. They provide many of the same features as Telegram including the most important such as group chats and video calls. For privacy purists, Session’s decentralized architecture and cryptographic security is hard to fault. For simple one-to-one messaging, meanwhile, Signal acquits itself well, leaving Wickr as the choice for enterprises. Do your research and pick a Telegram alternative that will keep your private messages private.
