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Any Telegram users here? I've only ever heard it used when talking about batshit American cults. Not exactly a target audience i want to reach.

dgellow 5y ago
It’s very popular in Europe. I haven’t seriously used another chat app since 2015.
kiryin 5y ago
I don't personally keep in touch with people so I can't really say how it's like, but I do know that it's popular around my neck of the woods. On par with whatsapp, it feels like.
skzv 5y ago
Telegram has more than 550 million monthly active users... so yeah, lots of us.
herbst 5y ago
It's the WhatsApp of my social circle. The question for me is who doesn't use it?
- swarnie 5y ago
  Maybe its a region specific thing? I've honest never met or heard of someone using it IRL. The only time i come across it is when a youtube news show what's to laugh at some Q people.
  - herbst 5y ago
    It always is :) I was just arguing in another thread how things like iMessage, facetime and FB messanger simply only have little relevance because of all the people not having access to that here in Switzerland. Signal and Threema went kinda popular too the more media talked about WhatsApp. But Telegram was THE IM app with simply the most fun functionality. On the other hand I also know people refusing to use Telegram so nobody would think they are in weird channels now. Adding to that I may also have a privacy focused circle, I am sure you'll find a group of people here too who life the exact opposite
ivan_gammel 5y ago
Active user here. There are some great channels related to my hobbies, it has proper desktop version etc.
- swarnie 5y ago
  Comparable to something like Reddit would you say?
  - the_player 5y ago
    It's as comparable to Reddit as Whatsapp.
  - p410n3 5y ago
    Somewhat? I often compare it to a mix of Twitter and Reddit for people that haven't experienced IRC. If you have experienced IRC, it's basically that. You have smaller rooms (groups) and bigger ones. Every room has their active 1%, their own rules and customs and after a while, their own inside jokes etc. Otherwise, it's a bit like reddit because you join groups that are usually about a certain topic / niche (general programming, JavaScript, Counter Strike, cooking, what have you) and it's also a bit like twitter because there's often a "hot topic" for a day or two with small things happening in between. Also because no one in their right mind treats those chats like actual group chats, as in, you don't read all the messages you missed. After a weekend i have at least 10k "missed messages". This comparison is also cool because it reminds you to treat telegram just like reddit and twitter: it's public basically. Anyone can join groups you're in and log every message (there's plenty bots that do that) and they can see the contents of a public group even without joining. It's not encrypted by default and frankly, barely anyone uses secret chats, if only because ppl are on their desktop half the time anyway
  - ComodoHacker 5y ago
    Not even close globally. But in countries where it's popular, it's comparable.
  - ivan_gammel 5y ago
    I’m not using Reddit, so cannot compare the experience, but Telegram is a messenger app, not a forum.
Nican 5y ago
I am a vivid Telegram user, and it is my primary method of communication with friends. The Telegram communities are so large, that you are going to find all kind of people there. (They have claimed to have 500+ million users) I am in over 100 chat rooms of varying sizes. Ranging from groups with 100+ members, in which I usually just ignore, and check from time to time to see what is going on. Groups of 20-100 members in which more close friends keep together, and is more similar to IRC chatrooms with tech talk and the ilk, and then a then a lot of groups with 5-20 members, in which friends organize parties, going out for dinner, etc... (I organize my chat rooms into folders for ease of access) Telegram has been my favorite form of communication because of great performance, very good sync between PC/mobile, great search (I can find messages from 5 years ago with no effort!), and ease of use. My experience with Telegram pales in comparison with any other chat program I have used for how I like to stay in touch with friends.
dannyw 5y ago
I use Telegram regularly with friends who don't find Signal user friendly enough. Facebook is the biggest platform for far-right content, child pornography, terrorism, whatnot.
- ALittleLight 5y ago
  As far as child sexual abuse material goes, Facebook may only be number one because they do a good job of automatically detecting and reporting CSAM. I don't think it's fair to hold that against them. I've not seen anything to suggest that Facebook actually has the most CSAM either on a per Capita basis or total - only that they report the most on their platform.
Gigachad 5y ago
Furries have heavily used the platform since before it went mainstream because of the custom sticker pack feature which amazingly, no other IM platform has reliably copied. But yes, recently nutcases have taken to the platform since there is no big tech corp behind it to moderate the platform. They do delete illegal groups and spam, but if it’s legal and not causing disruption to other users, it’s almost certainly not getting deleted.
isatty 5y ago
Active user here - telegram * is fast * has native apps * has amazing stickers * lets you share almost unlimited media * has a decent bot API * is secure enough for my personal use (though I don’t pretend to use it as a secure messenger nor do I advocate for it if this is important for someon. Please do not start an argument about this again, search up telegram on hn.algolia for plenty of comments about security) * calls and video is not as high quality as FaceTime but way better than WhatsApp
- Siira 5y ago
  The stickers are completely open; Anyone can submit new packs. Animated stickers are also supported. The clients are all opensource, and the APIs usable by anyone. It has tons of little nice features as well. E.g., organizational directories, great search, fine grained notification settings, … . There is also voice chat support, which is pretty nice.
akami 5y ago
I read hacker news exclusively through Telegram channels. Yes we are here and there are many of us.
dotancohen 5y ago
> Any Telegram users here? Telegram vs Whatsapp use today is sort of a Shibboleth. Those who only use Whatsapp are typically lax about privacy and security, whereas Telegram users typically take these thing seriously. So those who target the vulnerable are definitely focusing on Whatsapp right now. The self-selection is working very well in Telegram's favour, though that probably is just a happy side effect.
- whyoh 5y ago
  >whereas Telegram users typically take these thing seriously. And yet they don't mind the lack of encryption?
  - dotancohen 5y ago
    I cannot speak for everybody, but for me the lack of encryption - thus allowing state actors to intercept - is a far better trade off than the explicit sharing of data with advertisers. Note that I live in a nation in which I support and trust my state. Yet I do not trust advertisers and other entities who seek to influence my opinion. I'm sure that for those who live in states where the government is viewed as adversarial then Signal would be a better choice.
    - lxgr 5y ago
      That's the thing, though: Telegram cannot be intercepted by state actors. They are jurisdiction hopping to evade that responsibility. > Note that I live in a nation in which I support and trust my state. Given the above: Do you trust any state's government?
      - dotancohen 5y ago
        > They are jurisdiction hopping to evade that responsibility. From a technical perspective, whoever is running those servers can access the data. That aspect is far more important than the legal hurdles. > Given the above: Do you trust any state's government? Yes, my own. But I understand that not everybody has that privilege.
bitofhope 5y ago
It's popular among college students where I live. I guess it initially spread among the the sizeable engineering student body, many of whom found it preferable over a Facebook-owned IM application, but less of a hassle than Signal.
- nani8ot 5y ago
  I'm always suprised that people find Signal a hassle. For me, the experience is basically the same as WhatsApp's – minus the "Status" feature. Yes, Telegram has the superior UI compared to both. But for me, if I had to name an alternative to WhatsApp, Signal is the first coming to mind. The biggest (only?) reason being the lack of e2e encryption per default for 1:1 chats and complete lack thereof for group messaging in Telegram. And even if e2ee in groups wasn't important for me, the lack of e2ee support in the desktop client breaks the usability argument completely for me. It's such a pity, because I'd love to recommend Telegram if they'd just use some variant of the Sinal Protocol for everything, just like Matrix, XMPP and WhatsApp are doing it.
CornCobs 5y ago
It's definitely a country and region specific thing. Where I come from Telegram reigns supreme amongst young people. It's practically the default at universities. Custom stickers, polls, really useful bots - make it perfect for group settings and collaboration. It even scales really nicely from small groups for conversation to large groups for polls and dissemination of info. No numbers needed means it's a no-brainer using Telegram for group communication where you may not want everyone in the group to know your number. Some university modules have large Telegram groups for everyone reading the course.

dgellow 5y ago

It’s very popular in Europe. I haven’t seriously used another chat app since 2015.

kiryin 5y ago

I don't personally keep in touch with people so I can't really say how it's like, but I do know that it's popular around my neck of the woods. On par with whatsapp, it feels like.

skzv 5y ago

Telegram has more than 550 million monthly active users... so yeah, lots of us.

herbst 5y ago

It's the WhatsApp of my social circle. The question for me is who doesn't use it?

swarnie 5y ago
Maybe its a region specific thing? I've honest never met or heard of someone using it IRL. The only time i come across it is when a youtube news show what's to laugh at some Q people.
- herbst 5y ago
  It always is :) I was just arguing in another thread how things like iMessage, facetime and FB messanger simply only have little relevance because of all the people not having access to that here in Switzerland. Signal and Threema went kinda popular too the more media talked about WhatsApp. But Telegram was THE IM app with simply the most fun functionality. On the other hand I also know people refusing to use Telegram so nobody would think they are in weird channels now. Adding to that I may also have a privacy focused circle, I am sure you'll find a group of people here too who life the exact opposite

ivan_gammel 5y ago

Active user here. There are some great channels related to my hobbies, it has proper desktop version etc.

swarnie 5y ago
Comparable to something like Reddit would you say?
- the_player 5y ago
  It's as comparable to Reddit as Whatsapp.
- p410n3 5y ago
  Somewhat? I often compare it to a mix of Twitter and Reddit for people that haven't experienced IRC. If you have experienced IRC, it's basically that. You have smaller rooms (groups) and bigger ones. Every room has their active 1%, their own rules and customs and after a while, their own inside jokes etc. Otherwise, it's a bit like reddit because you join groups that are usually about a certain topic / niche (general programming, JavaScript, Counter Strike, cooking, what have you) and it's also a bit like twitter because there's often a "hot topic" for a day or two with small things happening in between. Also because no one in their right mind treats those chats like actual group chats, as in, you don't read all the messages you missed. After a weekend i have at least 10k "missed messages". This comparison is also cool because it reminds you to treat telegram just like reddit and twitter: it's public basically. Anyone can join groups you're in and log every message (there's plenty bots that do that) and they can see the contents of a public group even without joining. It's not encrypted by default and frankly, barely anyone uses secret chats, if only because ppl are on their desktop half the time anyway
- ComodoHacker 5y ago
  Not even close globally. But in countries where it's popular, it's comparable.
- ivan_gammel 5y ago
  I’m not using Reddit, so cannot compare the experience, but Telegram is a messenger app, not a forum.

Nican 5y ago

I am a vivid Telegram user, and it is my primary method of communication with friends. The Telegram communities are so large, that you are going to find all kind of people there. (They have claimed to have 500+ million users) I am in over 100 chat rooms of varying sizes. Ranging from groups with 100+ members, in which I usually just ignore, and check from time to time to see what is going on. Groups of 20-100 members in which more close friends keep together, and is more similar to IRC chatrooms with tech talk and the ilk, and then a then a lot of groups with 5-20 members, in which friends organize parties, going out for dinner, etc... (I organize my chat rooms into folders for ease of access) Telegram has been my favorite form of communication because of great performance, very good sync between PC/mobile, great search (I can find messages from 5 years ago with no effort!), and ease of use. My experience with Telegram pales in comparison with any other chat program I have used for how I like to stay in touch with friends.

dannyw 5y ago

I use Telegram regularly with friends who don't find Signal user friendly enough. Facebook is the biggest platform for far-right content, child pornography, terrorism, whatnot.

ALittleLight 5y ago
As far as child sexual abuse material goes, Facebook may only be number one because they do a good job of automatically detecting and reporting CSAM. I don't think it's fair to hold that against them. I've not seen anything to suggest that Facebook actually has the most CSAM either on a per Capita basis or total - only that they report the most on their platform.

Gigachad 5y ago

Furries have heavily used the platform since before it went mainstream because of the custom sticker pack feature which amazingly, no other IM platform has reliably copied. But yes, recently nutcases have taken to the platform since there is no big tech corp behind it to moderate the platform. They do delete illegal groups and spam, but if it’s legal and not causing disruption to other users, it’s almost certainly not getting deleted.

isatty 5y ago

Active user here - telegram * is fast * has native apps * has amazing stickers * lets you share almost unlimited media * has a decent bot API * is secure enough for my personal use (though I don’t pretend to use it as a secure messenger nor do I advocate for it if this is important for someon. Please do not start an argument about this again, search up telegram on hn.algolia for plenty of comments about security) * calls and video is not as high quality as FaceTime but way better than WhatsApp

Siira 5y ago
The stickers are completely open; Anyone can submit new packs. Animated stickers are also supported. The clients are all opensource, and the APIs usable by anyone. It has tons of little nice features as well. E.g., organizational directories, great search, fine grained notification settings, … . There is also voice chat support, which is pretty nice.

akami 5y ago

I read hacker news exclusively through Telegram channels. Yes we are here and there are many of us.

dotancohen 5y ago

> Any Telegram users here? Telegram vs Whatsapp use today is sort of a Shibboleth. Those who only use Whatsapp are typically lax about privacy and security, whereas Telegram users typically take these thing seriously. So those who target the vulnerable are definitely focusing on Whatsapp right now. The self-selection is working very well in Telegram's favour, though that probably is just a happy side effect.

whyoh 5y ago
>whereas Telegram users typically take these thing seriously. And yet they don't mind the lack of encryption?
- dotancohen 5y ago
  I cannot speak for everybody, but for me the lack of encryption - thus allowing state actors to intercept - is a far better trade off than the explicit sharing of data with advertisers. Note that I live in a nation in which I support and trust my state. Yet I do not trust advertisers and other entities who seek to influence my opinion. I'm sure that for those who live in states where the government is viewed as adversarial then Signal would be a better choice.
  - lxgr 5y ago
    That's the thing, though: Telegram cannot be intercepted by state actors. They are jurisdiction hopping to evade that responsibility. > Note that I live in a nation in which I support and trust my state. Given the above: Do you trust any state's government?
    - dotancohen 5y ago
      > They are jurisdiction hopping to evade that responsibility. From a technical perspective, whoever is running those servers can access the data. That aspect is far more important than the legal hurdles. > Given the above: Do you trust any state's government? Yes, my own. But I understand that not everybody has that privilege.

bitofhope 5y ago

It's popular among college students where I live. I guess it initially spread among the the sizeable engineering student body, many of whom found it preferable over a Facebook-owned IM application, but less of a hassle than Signal.

nani8ot 5y ago
I'm always suprised that people find Signal a hassle. For me, the experience is basically the same as WhatsApp's – minus the "Status" feature. Yes, Telegram has the superior UI compared to both. But for me, if I had to name an alternative to WhatsApp, Signal is the first coming to mind. The biggest (only?) reason being the lack of e2e encryption per default for 1:1 chats and complete lack thereof for group messaging in Telegram. And even if e2ee in groups wasn't important for me, the lack of e2ee support in the desktop client breaks the usability argument completely for me. It's such a pity, because I'd love to recommend Telegram if they'd just use some variant of the Sinal Protocol for everything, just like Matrix, XMPP and WhatsApp are doing it.

CornCobs 5y ago

It's definitely a country and region specific thing. Where I come from Telegram reigns supreme amongst young people. It's practically the default at universities. Custom stickers, polls, really useful bots - make it perfect for group settings and collaboration. It even scales really nicely from small groups for conversation to large groups for polls and dissemination of info. No numbers needed means it's a no-brainer using Telegram for group communication where you may not want everyone in the group to know your number. Some university modules have large Telegram groups for everyone reading the course.