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Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure

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Re: Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure

#61
post #53
post #38

So the entire argument for "Telegram isn’t a secure messenger, full stop." is that E2EE is opt-in? If that's all there is to it, then the opinion is rather weak. edit: maybe post a comment in addition to pressing the downbutton. I'm curious what's so problematic about what I've said.

It's not just opt-in, it's a non-default option you have to actively seek out and enable with every new conversation you start. So yes, by default, without additional steps taken, telegram is not e2e encrypted.

"Non-default option" is exactly what "opt-in" means, no?

Re: Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure

#62

Telegram has always felt like the catch-up of the messenger apps. I don't know a single person who uses it.

This is the most out of touch comment. Everybody is running after telegram, they are innovating all the time. If you want to see what Whatsapp will look like in a year, use telegram now.

Re: Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure

#63
This just seems like a knee-jerk reaction to Durov promoting his own platform as usual, what does Elon Musk have to do with this for example? Is there any evidence that the authorities have ever had access to private conversations? At the end of the day, the issue comes down to the fact that Telegram is such a superior messaging app compared to anything else.

Re: Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure

#64
post #28

Given the location of Telegram's servers (Dubai), and the nature of the government (neutral dictatorship) and the lack of encryption, my default assumption would be that not only are they selling access to your data to major governments, they've probably even streamlined the bidding process.

Both Russians and Ukrainians use Telegram, including confidential messaging with their agents on the foreign territory. So that's a prove enough for me, that it's safe enough.

Which bits of this war scream “good judgement and opsec” to you?

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/04/world/europe/ukraine-russ...

> Ukrainian artillery targets Russian soldiers by pinpointing their phone signals. Despite the deadly results, Russian troops keep defying a ban on cellphone use near the front.

Re: Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure

#66
I don't know about Telegram being nasty towards Signal but Signal brought this upon themselves.

Metadata are more important than the content of the messages and yet Signal has always been about knowing your phone number, with handwaving when the subject is mentioned.

Sessions, a Signal fork, had its tagline right: "Share encrypted messages, not metadata".

Signal is a metadata exchanging app and it's about collecting your phone number and everybody else' phone number.

Now I don't think Telegram needs to "attack" Telegram: Telegram is immensely more successful and has reached take-off velocity.

To me Telegram is going after WhatsApp, not Signal.

Re: Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure

#67
post #28

Given the location of Telegram's servers (Dubai), and the nature of the government (neutral dictatorship) and the lack of encryption, my default assumption would be that not only are they selling access to your data to major governments, they've probably even streamlined the bidding process.

Both Russians and Ukrainians use Telegram, including confidential messaging with their agents on the foreign territory. So that's a prove enough for me, that it's safe enough.

Sounds like another part of the product, so you just pay for the other side not being able to snoop on you.

Re: Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure

#68
post #42

[flagged]

We don’t have to trust the board. We have the binaries.

That you cannot verify matches the source code.

Telegram is shady, but the points made has a point. Not having reproducible builds on iOS is disappointing for such a security-critical product.

Re: Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know a single person who doesn't use Telegram.

What country do you live in?

Same In the EU, no ones that's legit uses Telegram, except scammers that you can run into in local "graigslist" website.

Re: Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure

#70

isn’t telegram the one that uses a wonky/sus custom encryption algorithm? https://words.filippo.io/dispatches/telegram-ecdh/

They rectified that around the time it surfaced.

If you follow the discourse, the crypto quality is no longer brought up in factual Telegram-to-Signal comparisons, except as low-effort swipes at Telegram's general credibility.

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