4 ms·

Is it end-to-end encrypted by default yet? Otherwise it doesn't do much more to advance privacy on the Internet than say Whatsapp.

DCKing 12y ago
In non-secret chats it even saves all messages on their servers. You can then 'conveniently' retrieve all non-secret your messages when setting up Telegram on other devices. For non-secret chat it's even worse than Whatsapp, because Whatsapp reasonably convincingly simply relays messages, only storing them on their servers until it is delivered.
- aianus 12y ago
  I'm pretty sure I've reloaded my Whatsapp conversations after reformatting my phone
orbifold 12y ago
Its headquarters are not in the US, so at least the NSA has a slightly harder time getting data access.
MartinMond 12y ago
There are some serious issues with Telegram's cryptography it seems: https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/49782/is-telegram-secure https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/49782/is-telegr... and http://unhandledexpression.com/2013/12/17/telegram-stand-back-we-know-maths/ http://unhandledexpression.com/2013/12/17/telegram-stand-bac... See also http://thoughtcrime.org/blog/telegram-crypto-challenge/ http://thoughtcrime.org/blog/telegram-crypto-challenge/ (comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6936539 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6936539 )
- rsanders 12y ago
  What alternatives with well-vetted crypto would you recommend for non-life-threatening personal use?
  - sb057 12y ago
    I use TextSecure, myself. https://whispersystems.org/#encrypted_texts https://whispersystems.org/#encrypted_texts
  - higherpurpose 12y ago
    TextSecure or anything using OTR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging#Client_support https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging#Clien...
6d0debc071 12y ago
From the FAQ: Q: Why not just make all chats ‘secret’? The idea behind Telegram is to bring something more secure to the masses, who understand nothing about security and want none of it. Being merely secure is not enough to achieve this — you also need to be fast, powerful and user friendly. Telegram is a secure and powerful alternative to mass market messengers and a fast and user-friendly alternative to secure messengers. Hence the two types of chats that we have: ordinary chats and Secret Chats. The important thing to remember is that all Telegram messages are always securely encrypted. The difference between messages in Secret Chats and ordinary Telegram messages is in the encryption type: client-client in case of Secret Chats, client-server/server-client for ordinary chats. This enables your ordinary Telegram messages to be both secure and available in the cloud so that you can access them from any of your devices — which is very useful at times.
therealmarv 12y ago
No. Not default. 1:1 encryption optional and group end to end encryption not possible.

DCKing 12y ago

In non-secret chats it even saves all messages on their servers. You can then 'conveniently' retrieve all non-secret your messages when setting up Telegram on other devices. For non-secret chat it's even worse than Whatsapp, because Whatsapp reasonably convincingly simply relays messages, only storing them on their servers until it is delivered.

aianus 12y ago
I'm pretty sure I've reloaded my Whatsapp conversations after reformatting my phone

orbifold 12y ago

Its headquarters are not in the US, so at least the NSA has a slightly harder time getting data access.

MartinMond 12y ago

There are some serious issues with Telegram's cryptography it seems: https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/49782/is-telegram-secure https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/49782/is-telegr... and http://unhandledexpression.com/2013/12/17/telegram-stand-back-we-know-maths/ http://unhandledexpression.com/2013/12/17/telegram-stand-bac... See also http://thoughtcrime.org/blog/telegram-crypto-challenge/ http://thoughtcrime.org/blog/telegram-crypto-challenge/ (comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6936539 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6936539 )

rsanders 12y ago
What alternatives with well-vetted crypto would you recommend for non-life-threatening personal use?
- sb057 12y ago
  I use TextSecure, myself. https://whispersystems.org/#encrypted_texts https://whispersystems.org/#encrypted_texts
- higherpurpose 12y ago
  TextSecure or anything using OTR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging#Client_support https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-the-Record_Messaging#Clien...

6d0debc071 12y ago

From the FAQ: Q: Why not just make all chats ‘secret’? The idea behind Telegram is to bring something more secure to the masses, who understand nothing about security and want none of it. Being merely secure is not enough to achieve this — you also need to be fast, powerful and user friendly. Telegram is a secure and powerful alternative to mass market messengers and a fast and user-friendly alternative to secure messengers. Hence the two types of chats that we have: ordinary chats and Secret Chats. The important thing to remember is that all Telegram messages are always securely encrypted. The difference between messages in Secret Chats and ordinary Telegram messages is in the encryption type: client-client in case of Secret Chats, client-server/server-client for ordinary chats. This enables your ordinary Telegram messages to be both secure and available in the cloud so that you can access them from any of your devices — which is very useful at times.

therealmarv 12y ago

No. Not default. 1:1 encryption optional and group end to end encryption not possible.