Linux ( Debian-based distros for Signal (opens in new tab), 32-bit (opens in new tab) and 64-bit (opens in new tab) versions for Telegram) Signal vs.
#TELEGRAM APP WINDOWS#
Windows ( Signal (opens in new tab), Telegram (opens in new tab)) MacOS ( Signal (opens in new tab), Telegram (opens in new tab))Īndroid ( Signal (opens in new tab), Telegram (opens in new tab))
IOS ( Signal (opens in new tab), Telegram (opens in new tab))
Both Signal and Telegram are available on the following platforms: Telegram has a slight edge in this category, with support for Windows Phone (opens in new tab) as well as a Chrome browser extension (opens in new tab) and a fully web-based option (opens in new tab). While Signal is owned by a non-profit foundation, Telegram's founders are Russian billionaires Pavel and Nikolai Durov, who also created VK, the country's most popular social network. The brothers no longer live in Russia, and while their company is based in London, many of its central operations are in Dubai. You can start Signal chats by typing in another person's number, but Telegram needs access to your contacts before you can message anyone.įor those who are concerned about big tech snooping on private conversations, Signal again proves to be the better choice. Telegram's metadata may include your IP address (and as a result, your location) as well as who you are talking to and when. That matters when the authorities show up at the service provider's facilities with a search warrant. Signal generally stores only the date on which you created your account and when you last connected. Signal collects far less data on its users than Telegram does. But the paper added that "further investigation" was needed "in order to deem this protocol suite definitely secure."
Many information-security experts state that Telegram's " homegrown encryption technology (opens in new tab)" has a limited track record compared to Signal's, although the consensus seems to be that it is more secure than MTProto 1.0 (opens in new tab).Īn academic research paper (opens in new tab) published in December 2020 analyzed Telegram's MTProto 2.0 protocol and deemed it fundamentally sound. Its encryption is also used by WhatsApp.įor its encrypted Secret Chats, Telegram uses its own MTProto 2.0 protocol, which is open-source on the client side. Signal's open-source encryption protocol is available for all to see and anyone to examine, meaning that flaws can be found and fixed quickly.