5 ms·

Well, one technical reason is that WhatsApp groups — unlike Telegram groups — use encryption. So Facebook doesn't know what goes on inside them.

by whyoh 6y ago

afwe 6y ago
They can see the title and possibly the picture, though. (People who know this use inconspicuous names and pictures)
vetinari 6y ago
That's just a theater. If anybody can join a group, there must be a way to distribute the keys to those who joined. Anybody can get a key then, including Whatsapp/Facebook.
- tinus_hn 6y ago
  The app makes sure only the people it thinks are in the channel get the keys. If you turn on the security notifications you can see how it works, you get a message when someone gets a new phone, that indicates they got a new key. You can even check if it matches up if you meet in person or if you communicated using another medium.
  - vbezhenar 6y ago
    Those are not some private groups of 5 guys. Those group are available to millions of users.
    - tinus_hn 6y ago
      You can still tell but of course there shouldn’t be an expectation of privacy with that many users.
- ffpip 6y ago
  These new people cannot access older messages. e2ee
- whyoh 6y ago
  Right, if the invite link is publicly available anyone can join. But a Facebook employee would have to join the group and they wouldn't have access to older messages. It's not like with Telegram, where all the content, including old messages, is stored in plain text on the server.
- ConsiderCrying 6y ago
  There's also the fact that any of those messages can be reported for doxxing or screenshotted to show proof that they're doxxing. Also, Telegram group chats are encrypted, just not E2E, so they've also likely been reported by people who visited them. They are public, after all. (Which seems like a puzzling approach when you're doing something illicit but that's a whole other matter.)

5 ms·

Well, one technical reason is that WhatsApp groups — unlike Telegram groups — use encryption. So Facebook doesn't know what goes on inside them.

by whyoh 6y ago

Well, one technical reason is that WhatsApp groups — unlike Telegram groups — use encryption. So Facebook doesn't know what goes on inside them.

afwe 6y ago
They can see the title and possibly the picture, though. (People who know this use inconspicuous names and pictures)
vetinari 6y ago
That's just a theater. If anybody can join a group, there must be a way to distribute the keys to those who joined. Anybody can get a key then, including Whatsapp/Facebook.
- tinus_hn 6y ago
  The app makes sure only the people it thinks are in the channel get the keys. If you turn on the security notifications you can see how it works, you get a message when someone gets a new phone, that indicates they got a new key. You can even check if it matches up if you meet in person or if you communicated using another medium.
  - vbezhenar 6y ago
    Those are not some private groups of 5 guys. Those group are available to millions of users.
    - tinus_hn 6y ago
      You can still tell but of course there shouldn’t be an expectation of privacy with that many users.
- ffpip 6y ago
  These new people cannot access older messages. e2ee
- whyoh 6y ago
  Right, if the invite link is publicly available anyone can join. But a Facebook employee would have to join the group and they wouldn't have access to older messages. It's not like with Telegram, where all the content, including old messages, is stored in plain text on the server.
- ConsiderCrying 6y ago
  There's also the fact that any of those messages can be reported for doxxing or screenshotted to show proof that they're doxxing. Also, Telegram group chats are encrypted, just not E2E, so they've also likely been reported by people who visited them. They are public, after all. (Which seems like a puzzling approach when you're doing something illicit but that's a whole other matter.)