Some argue that WhatsApp’s encryption is more robust than that of Telegram
WhatsApp recently introduced users with a notice of a change to their privacy policy. This has led to outrage among users, many who are opting to now switch to apps like Telegram and Signal.
The change in their privacy policy mainly concerns business messaging, not personal messaging. Under their new terms, WhatsApp will collect and share information with other companies in the Facebook Group for advertising purposes. The information that will be collected is mainly phone numbers of WhatsApp contacts, profile pictures, statuses and diagnostic data.
WhatsApp uses a very high-end, sophisticated end-to-end encryption. End-to-end encryption ensures only you and the person you’re communicating with can read or listen to what is sent, and nobody in between, not even WhatsApp. This means that WhatsApp cannot track or store the contents of users’ chats. This type of encryption is enabled by default on WhatsApp.
On alternative messaging apps, like Telegram, end-to-end encryption is not enabled by default. The only way to use secure encryption on Telegram is to use its “secret chats” feature. This function is only available for “chats” between two users. In theory, therefore, Telegram has access to your messages which are not set to be marked as “secret chats” and they store this for 12 months.
Based on this comparison, one can say that WhatsApp is more secure than Telegram, seeing as end-to-end encryption is available by default on WhatsApp. In Telegram’s privacy policy, they explicitly state that they track users’ messages in cloud chats such as messages, photos, videos and documents, which goes beyond what WhatsApp tracks under their latest privacy terms.
WhatsApp has been pushing to turn its messaging platform into a modern eCommerce portal, where users can easily do business with companies and brands. The new privacy policy is part of its efforts to add these new features.
If users do not accept the messaging app’s new privacy policy, they will be unable to use WhatsApp from 8 February 2021.
