Telegram has the huge advantage of not needing to reveal your phone number. If your threat model doesn't really include the government but does include people

Telegram has the huge advantage of not needing to reveal your phone number. If your threat model doesn't really include the government but does include people stalking you then telegram is actually better than Signal. With Signal you have to buy a new SIM card to get rid of a stalker, which is a huge annoyance.