WhatsApp vs. Telegram: What’s the Most Secure Messaging App

Instant messaging apps allow users to send images, text, and voice messages with a single tap or scroll. Popular messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp are often placed side-by-side, allowing users to debate which app is best.

Confessed mobile app tester, this is my opinion on the Telegram/Whatsapp debate. My comparison will take into account the origin, functionality, as well as my experiences with both apps.

Origin: The History of Telegram and WhatsApp

Instant messaging apps have not always been this popular: the launch of the AOL messenger was the breakthrough that allowed users to communicate in real-time. Talkomatic was in 1973, and PartyLine in 1971.

Instant messaging platforms were initially used to send messages quicker in chat rooms. However, they became the most important form of online communication over time.

Two Russian brothers, Nikolai Durov and Pavel Durov launched Telegram in August 2013. These brothers also created a messenger called VK which they left in 2014 due to political issues. Telegram was established to allow free online speech and challenge WhatsApp’s primacy.

It is one of the most popular instant messaging apps, having 500 million users and projected to reach 1 billion users in 2022

WhatsApp or WhatsApp messenger is about four years older than Telegram: It was founded by Brian Acton and Jan Koum after the pair left their jobs at Yahoo! Originally, the platform was used to communicate status updates. However, WhatsApp quickly became a hit and was added with phone number registration.

It is the most used app in the world with over 2.5 billion users. WhatsApp is more popular than Telegram and was purchased by Facebook for $19 million US dollars.
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Functionality: What Users Notice When They Use Telegram vs WhatsApp

Telegram allows its users to send and receive messages, group chats, make phone calls, send stickers, and file attachments in real-time. It does not provide encryption for general chats but only secret chats.

Users can easily delete messages from group chats: files and messages that were sent in error can be deleted.

You can also use this feature to send sensitive messages. Large files, such as movies, images, and other documents, can be sent with a 2GB limit. This is in contrast to WhatsApp, which has a limit of 30 images and 16MB per file.

Also, Telegram messages can be stored in the cloud so that users can access them from any device. WhatsApp does not allow multiple devices use. It is also more restrictive with regards to single-user phone numbers. A Telegram group chat may have as many as 200,000 members, but only 256 members can be added to a WhatsApp group chat.

WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption in all chats. This is a feature that gives WhatsApp a greater sense of security than Telegram. WhatsApp’s association with Facebook raises questions about its security.

WhatsApp updates can be annoying and frequent. Users are advised to update to the latest version or risk losing their chats. WhatsApp continues to make efforts to improve the user experience and reach.

WhatsApp is more popular than Telegram because of its video calling feature, user experience, and design improvements, as well as regular promotion. WhatsApp also provides a WhatsApp business and email marketing feature, that is best for users running their businesses.
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Telegram VS WhatsApp: My Personal Opinion

Telegram and WhatsApp should be used for distinct purposes, according to me. WhatsApp is personal: I use it for calls and chats; my family and friends enjoy video calling.

Telegram groups are ideal for large online educational meetings and movie collections. Telegram is my favorite app if I need to send or receive large files. My Telegram app has not been updated in a while, which is very satisfying.

My WhatsApp updates are making me squint on certain days. Telegram does not announce my presence to my contacts in a way that I don’t like. I love the fact that I can upload multiple status updates to WhatsApp.

Both WhatsApp and Telegram have their advantages and disadvantages. Telegram and WhatsApp are both free instant messaging apps. They have been providing amazing platforms for people all over the world to communicate. Their founders have done an incredible job.