Signal vs Telegram: Which is the best Alternative of Whatsapp?
Can you really escape texting in this era? Think again.
But you are indeed so done with WhatsApp, that you need to find something else and maybe branch out. Well, you are not alone.
In times like these, where one can only really stay connected with your friends, peers, relatives, and colleagues through texting and video calls, messaging apps become indispensable.
Ever since Whatsapp’s new contentious terms of service pop-ups started showing out of nowhere, users have felt rather sketchy about the app, leading to the dropping of the said app’s downloads by a substantial 35%. Even more so, as Facebook updated its privacy policy granting all facebook owning companies access to user data on WhatsApp. As a result of which, messaging apps like Telegram and Signal (validated by the ELON MUSK) have picked up on a surge in downloads, wherein telegram has surpassed over 500+ million active users per month and signal has reached 10 million+ downloads.
If you have also made up your mind on quitting WhatsApp, and can’t choose between the alternatives of telegram and signal, here’s a quick guide to help you land that decision.
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Which app offers more security?
Signal offers and quote “state-of-the-art end-to-end encryption (powered by the open-source Signal Protocol) keeps your conversations secure.” as mentioned on its website. The software company claims that neither Signal themselves nor your phone company or any government can access your texts or listen to your calls. Which indeed, Signal is by far, the best security-offering messaging app, be it on the user-facing side or the back-end, with as mentioned above E2E encryption default to all your local files with a 4 digit password. Sealed-sender is another one of its features that disables anybody to know the IP addresses of the sender or the receiver, taking privacy to another level.
While telegram does hold-up E2E encryption, it does not support it on group chats, not to mention it is not always on default. It only ever uses the encryption when you specifically use the secret-chats feature. But if you are not using the secret chats feature, your data will be stored at telegram’s local cloud, which in turn will be encrypted. Telegram has its own encryption software service namely MTProto which is not exactly an open service, so to speak.
Ease of access for Laptop and PC users?
Whether or not your messaging app is desktop friendly is an important factor to consider. Now, telegram can be accessed on your laptop on www.web.telegram.org. On the other hand, for accessing Signal on PC, one needs to download software, based on the operating system that you are using. Telegram can be accessed on desktop independently meaning that the mobile app does not need to be linked to the computer, contrary to which is true for Signal.
Which app has a wide range of better and preferable features?
Here’s the deal. Telegram is overloaded with features. I mean it. Well, you get the basic features like chats, group chats with a limit of 200000 members, calls, and channels, but there’s more to it on telegram. The app has incredible features like pols, bots, quizzes, hashtags, stickers, gifs, and so much more to ensure a fun user experience. You can also edit sent messages, can schedule your messages, share uncompressed media, and have fun with the array of themes available.
Telegram allows a massive 1.5 GB limit for sharing files and granular support for the notifications that you receive. Telegram now offers video and voice calls over its platform which is a major plus.
While signal offers great security it’s lacking a lot in the features department. You have got all the basic features of end-to-end encrypted messaging, group chats, voice, and video calls, and recently added group calling as well. A worth mentioning attribute of Signal would be the note-to-self feature. While there are various apps where you can take notes, but if you are one of those people who creates a group of just yourself to add in notes whenever you need to, then this is your jam.
App permissions required for signal vs telegram.
All said and done, Signal app only requires access to your contacts and telephone whereas telegram gains access to your storage, call logs, camera, and microphone. Signal does not store and maintain any of the data related to the user such as logs, metadata, location, group subscriptions, profile name, conversations, and contacts. Telegram has access to your contacts, User ID, and all the aforementioned, and your data is backed up to the cloud unless of course, you have used the secret chat feature. Telegram has assured that the data is encrypted, but still doesn’t change the fact that it has access to your messages and data.
Final verdict: Which app is better? Signal Vs Telegram?
Wrapping it up, it’s pretty obvious that Signal is a very safe and secured means of messaging. Although telegram offers a whole array of features and fun options for users to make group conversations rather enjoyable. At the end of the day, it completely depends on your purpose and usage of the said messaging apps. Some people with more basic preferences would wanna use signal, whereas a few others who want a more amusing way of messaging would prefer telegram.