Telegram is just actually superior in terms of features I don’t get it.
Why do not more people choose a matrix server and use a decentralized way of communication instead of committing themselves to this or that app/company?
Because most people they know use WhatsApp/Facebook/Instagram.
If I were clever enough to host my own matrix server I would in a heartbeat. Bridges to WhatsApp, insta, fb, etc. are game changers.
I found a server in the list I posted that was hosted by people in my area and funded by donations. I got in touch with them and they even implemented some bridges with that server. Now I am using it with a WhatsApp bridge, feels pretty seamless.
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Why does anyone choose Telegram or WhatsApp over Signal which is encrypted and audited? (Probably features I don’t care about, but they do)
Telegram let’s you send 2gb files, and stores them forever. Signal has a 100mb limit.
It also used to be easier to set up on multiple devices at the same time, but I believe that Whatsapp and Signal have improved that by now too.
Why switch platforms if all your data is still being collected? This just provides another business with your data to sell and possibly have hacked. Sure, Telegram offers encryption, but it’s not enabled by default even though they advertise it thoroughly. This demonstrates they’re taking advantage of peoples desire for privacy simply to increase their user base while making the users + contacts do all the work.
As far as file sharing, with ProtonDrive I can use any messaging service and send a 500GB file if I wanted, fully encrypted with password protection and an expiration date. Telegram keeping the files forever doesn’t seem like a benefit either.
Signal is based in the US. Better to use something that is not based in the.US.
I agree that signal is superior in terms of privacy but a lot of people don’t care about that. And most people using WhatsApp DEFINITELY don’t care about that.
This undermines your whole original post.
WhatsApp uses the same encryption schema as signal.
Was going to post this :3
Right?
does signal have multi device synchronization? on telegram you can start to write a message on one device and continue on another.
one of the feature i use most on telegram is saved messages to send stuff between phone and pc.
this is pretty much the only thing that is keeping me on telegram.
I don’t understand the love for Telegram.
In the short period of using it I had so much BS come through by scammers/spammers - both as DMs and group messages. I’ve rarely had that with WhatsApp.
In my eyes WhatsApp is far better than Telegram. And Signal is far greater than WhatsApp. The only thing I wish Signal had was inbuilt GIFs; it’s not that much of an issue on mobile but it’s a pain on desktop.
Telegram is awful with spam. I’m constantly getting sent links to Telegram groups for Russian porn models who all pretend to be underage and spamming their Boosty links. I feel like it’s probably part of some scam to bait people into buying something illegal and then blackmail them later. I don’t keep it installed anymore because I don’t need that sort of incriminating shit on my devices.
I’d delete my account, but I have a couple people who only use Telegram, but I’m getting close to cutting them off over it unless they switch to something else. I’ve reported this to Telegram numerous times, but these accounts keep popping up and keep managing to reach me.
Just change your privacy settings then.
It’s either something about your phone number or your username. I’ve never had a problem on there
Telegram is more user friendly than Whatsapp, it’s clients are open source and has a decent desktop app.
It’s way better than Zuck’s trash.
No E2EE by default though
That’s interesting I never had that experience with telegram. It’s been cust as “clean” as Whatsapp for me
I get you, but I don’t get the love for Facebook/meta/whatsapp
There’s no ‘love’ for Meta, most people don’t think in those terms. It’s just that their platforms are in heavy use in many countries and you tend to use the method most common to people in your circle.
My older friends and family use Messenger and SMS, my similarly aged peers use WhatsApp, and my work colleagues use Signal. So I correspond across all these. I know the benefits and pitfalls of each but I can’t influence the established communication choices of others. The only people i know who use Telegram are racist nutjobs.
Same but android development communities for me, on telegram
People don’t choose, people use whatever most people around them use. Whatsapp and telegram are both centralized, and shouldn’t be trusted because, by the nature of it, they can (and eventually will) turn user-hostile.
Messengers come and go, if we really want to make some progress in this area, we should embrace federated and p2p protocols as the logical evolution. Anything else is just wasting time and user privacy.
Telegram gives me:
- Roll-their-own encryption off-by-default without cross-device support or group chat available.
- The ability to talk to strangers I don’t want to talk to
- An open source client, but a proprietary, non-federated server
- An unmoderated social network that’s a free-for-all for crypto scammers, extremists, and other nuts
WhatsApp gives me:
- Signal’s encryption algorithm on all chats
- Whatsapp web (still with encryption)
- Encrypted group chats
- The ability to talk to human beings I actually know and want to talk to
Neither respects my privacy.
Not sure why I would bother attempting to use Telegram again.
This is the best answer, IMHO. Also, network effects means that everyone’s already on WhatsApp, so it’s only natural that people use it more than Telegram
WhatsApp gives me:
1,2,3 - closed source app that has not been audited but you chose to believe that is backdoor free, ok then
4 - half true, whatsapp business is full of automated responses, not too many human beings there
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I do not use “whatsapp business,” no idea why I would.
I do not seek to use a service and then interact with the people who happen to be on that service, I seek to interact with people and meet them on the service they’re using. The fediverse is an exception, because I believe in the principles, but the experience sucks because it’s all tech with no real community (Lemmy/Kbin) and none of the people I want to follow (Mastodon).
I didn’t choose. Literally every single person with a smartphone in my country uses whatsapp so that’s what I use too.
a) because it’s what everyone I know uses
b) telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default. And not end-to-end encrypted at all for group chats. That’s kind of a dealbreaker. Telegram is one of the last messaging apps I’d recommend.
It’s also closed source and doesn’t really specify the specifics of its crypto implementation or really even the underlying technology.
Edit - I was apparently mistaken or my information is outdated. MTProto is indeed open source, though I swear that hasn’t always been the case.
It’s open source.
In my country whatsapp messenger can and will be seen by the government if there is a request. Have heard it many times. I don’t think any messenger or anything you write is actually secure or actually private. We just came to terms with that.
We don’t choose which app we use. Our friends, family, and colleagues do.
I could live with Signal’s functionality, but there barely anybody there.
Everyone I know uses signal, even our neighborhood group messaging is a signal group.
Then again my neighbors are all reasonable people.
I use email with GnuPG. Everything else is woefully insecure. BTW, I have no friends.
WhatsApp became the defacto messaging app in south America over a decade ago. Sms was really expensive so people opted for WhatsApp which was cheaper over data and you void send pics at a time where no carriers allowed mms. Now almost all carriers have unlimited WhatsApp as part of data plans. Switching to telegram is pretty much imposible
The perceived usefulness of a network, platform, or communication protocol increases with its relative adoption. That’s known as “network effect”, and network effect is at strongest for anything regarding direct communication - such as messaging platforms.
In other words: WhatsApp is used by lots of people, and this discourages people to migrate over better alternatives, like Signal (my choice) or Telegram (OP’s).
Telegram is worse than WhatsApp in terms of security. It doesn’t even use audited encryption by default.
Whatsapp is a closed source app. You can’t audit it.
It sends text to people. Even pictures or videos if needed. What more features would I need?
I don’t know anyone that uses telegram. Whatsapp is just the standard, though many people have switched to Signal.
so you use InternetExplorer? Because it shows webpages, right?
It actually won’t show many modern webpages properly anymore.
right? and whatsapp wont show modern people anymore. even in the US the adoption rate is in decline.
Well, there you have your answer.
- WhatsApp’s popularity in Germany is far above average.
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and you think that is an argument for what? the least digital country in the EU. so you are with me on that one. LOL.
It’s a really simple matter of practicality. I can either use whatsapp and talk to people or I can install telegram and send messages into the void, because no one fucking uses it.
no. it isnt and you cant.
none of the next generation likes it. so stick with myspace as much as you want.
The biggest one for most people would be large files since you can’t really do that on WhatsApp. WhatsApp images and video also get deleted after some time where as telegram don’t
WhatsApp images and video also get deleted after some time
That’s a feature that can be turned off.
Why would I use russian whatsapp owned by russian Zuckerberg living in Dubai?
If anything Signal would be the superior alternative.
But as stated by other ppl before me, I use whatsapp because at least where I live almost everyone uses it and Telegram is for conspiracy theories and Nazi or russian propaganda.
Messaging apps are tricky, you can’t just pick what’s the “best” because it’s primary function is to message people, so the best app is what can do that.
If nobody you want to message uses telegram, or signal, or matrix, than they aren’t very good messaging apps FOR YOU.
You have to start using the app, then start convincing everyone else to use it, and that’s quite a hurdle, when most people you know use the “good enough” Whatsapp, or even just SMS, or iMessage.
