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Group Video Calls

telegram.org

121–130 of 183 posts

Re: Group Video Calls

#121
post #34

To me Telegram feels like the red corner district of a city. I simply don't feel like I can trust it, there's something very shady about it. I wouldn't be surprised if Telegram reads those exclusive Bitcoin whale groups and uses that insider info. Group chats are not end to end encrypted. That being said, WhatsApp is like the authorized garage where you know that you'll get the service which is officially recognized…

Care to qualify that speculation with some evidence? It seems like whenever telegram is brought up here, there's a lot of speculation about it not being trustworthy but no concrete evidence. The client is open source. While not end to end encrypted by default, it shares that property with most messengers. E2E limits search-ability and other features so it's a tradeoff. I have to wonder if part of why this is mostly b…

When it first started getting popular I was curious about whether they were trustworthy, so I chatted with the devs and they said it was 100% open source. I looked through the source and found a pre-compiled binary blob buried deep in the folder structure, and they came up with some strange excuse that I can't recall and then it disappeared after a while.

Also, the evidence that it's not end to end encrypted by default for many operations is out in the open.

Re: Group Video Calls

#122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except for the huge red flag that WhatsApp is owned by Facebook.

WhatsApp is hooked up to the surveillance machine of Facebook. No matter how they try to spin the nonsense that they are not siamese twins are perhaps two different versions of the business, its not going to change the fact that Zuckerberg was spouting for charity. How they ferret the data out of WhatsApp is a mystery to me. It's just not a red flag. It's a minefield.

Political minefield

Re: Group Video Calls

#123
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I laughed at this, but am curious where you place Signal and Matrix in this analogy? Both feel like good services that aren't authorized, per say.

XMPP would be the local electrician with a mustache and a calm tone that can fix anything for you pennies. We used to have them in Hungary. I miss them. "Szaki"

XMPP would be a loosely-organised community of people who know how to fix their own car and might be willing to fix yours for beers.

Re: Group Video Calls

#124
post #34

To me Telegram feels like the red corner district of a city. I simply don't feel like I can trust it, there's something very shady about it. I wouldn't be surprised if Telegram reads those exclusive Bitcoin whale groups and uses that insider info. Group chats are not end to end encrypted. That being said, WhatsApp is like the authorized garage where you know that you'll get the service which is officially recognized…

Care to qualify that speculation with some evidence? It seems like whenever telegram is brought up here, there's a lot of speculation about it not being trustworthy but no concrete evidence. The client is open source. While not end to end encrypted by default, it shares that property with most messengers. E2E limits search-ability and other features so it's a tradeoff. I have to wonder if part of why this is mostly b…

I( completely agree with whatever you have listed here and the reason why the app is up for bashing is because of the antecedents of the owner.

How does everything which has its origins in US is touched up with fairy duust while anything that may have a remote link with Russia is garbage?

Signal is garbage. They are riding on the coattails of marketing (and that's what investment money does)

Re: Group Video Calls

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TBH my threat model views Russian and Middle Eastern oligarchs and governments as less of an immediate threat to my freedoms than my own government or major US tech firms. Long run it's a problem, but until I have a app at the same risk/feature sweet spot I don't mind the downsides of telegram. (Edited cause I am utterly unable to spell)

This was part of how I settled on Telegram. Basically any western country can be secretly ordered to turn over all my information on the flimsiest of reasons, if it’s not already just intercepted through Five Eyes style arrangements. The chances of Russia volunteering to share my chat history with anyone that could actually impact my day to day life is pretty much nil, and I’m certainly not interesting to anyone in t…

Bingo!

Likewise. I'd like FSB to know what I did in the last one hour. I wonder if they really find it interesting to pursue me.

Re: Group Video Calls

#126
post #97
post #34

To me Telegram feels like the red corner district of a city. I simply don't feel like I can trust it, there's something very shady about it. I wouldn't be surprised if Telegram reads those exclusive Bitcoin whale groups and uses that insider info. Group chats are not end to end encrypted. That being said, WhatsApp is like the authorized garage where you know that you'll get the service which is officially recognized…

Telegram is recognized by i.e. Singapore government. They have multiple official channels in Telegram, including ministry of manpower, public housing authority and ministry of foreign affairs. The official government site has their Telegram group as well.

This is news to me. I assumed that they had presence because of outreach but this could hold true for most other governments.

Re: Group Video Calls

#127
post #34

To me Telegram feels like the red corner district of a city. I simply don't feel like I can trust it, there's something very shady about it. I wouldn't be surprised if Telegram reads those exclusive Bitcoin whale groups and uses that insider info. Group chats are not end to end encrypted. That being said, WhatsApp is like the authorized garage where you know that you'll get the service which is officially recognized…

Signal is recognazied by many European governments, and WhatsApp is just a street dog that was once loved and is now hated because it misbehaved.

Re: Group Video Calls

#128
post #104
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's not encrypted end-to-end, why exactly would it be alarming to an oppressive government?

It's still encrypted over the wire. And Pavel Durov isn't exactly a bootlicker (see his history with Russia). That said, who knows who has access to Telegram servers.

So, it's encrypted exactly the same way ChatRoulette is?

Re: Group Video Calls

#129
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

_And_ ephemeral? Does that mean this is end-to-end encrypted?

The ephemeral functionality is different from end-to-end encrypted functionality. The former is part of the end-to-end encrypted chats, and can be modified as needed. It's basically a timer that controls when your messages disappear.

So, it's _not_ end-to-end encrypted?

Re: Group Video Calls

#130
post #34

To me Telegram feels like the red corner district of a city. I simply don't feel like I can trust it, there's something very shady about it. I wouldn't be surprised if Telegram reads those exclusive Bitcoin whale groups and uses that insider info. Group chats are not end to end encrypted. That being said, WhatsApp is like the authorized garage where you know that you'll get the service which is officially recognized…

really like your garage analogy.

the missing piece seems to be the type of car.

if i put down a years income for a new car, the 'authorized garage' has it's perks because the value of holesome repairs is probably greater than the cost.

if on the other hand one has a ten year old, used car, which main purpose is a means of transport, that greasy, dusty garage, were the mechanic will let you know that there was only one screw missing and charges you a few bucks is golden.

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