Telegram will disclose users' IP adresses and phone numbers to authorities, Durov says
Telegram will disclose users' IP adresses and phone numbers to authorities, Durov says
🔎 Search on Telegram is more powerful than in other messaging apps because it allows users to find public channels and bots. Unfortunately, this feature has been abused by people who violated our Terms of Service to sell illegal goods. 💪 Over the last few weeks, a dedicated team of moderators, le...
Search on Telegram is more powerful than in other messaging apps because it allows users to find public channels and bots. Unfortunately, this feature has been abused by people who violated our Terms of Service to sell illegal goods.
To further deter criminals from abusing Telegram Search, we have updated our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, ensuring they are consistent across the world. We’ve made it clear that the IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate our rules can be disclosed to relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests.
Honestly that isn't bad. They were knowingly protecting people who target children.
Privacy should be enforced on a technical level with zero knowledge
"Protecting the children" is always the excuse for fascism, pay attention.
It has nothing to do with fascism. Fascism is what left leaning politicians call people they don't agree with. On the right they call people they don't like communists.
Outside of that mini rant I disagree with the idea that Telegram is a force for good. Telegram doesn't use e2ee and has questionable ties. They let people in public group chats post CSAM and other child abuse related stuff. If you look up telegram in the news it is constantly the platform used by criminals. It isn't private and it sure isn't anonymous. There are many better alternatives that don't actively support human trafficking and such. Its not like Telegram has zero knowledge of what happens. They knowingly allowed people to exploit children and then to go around bragging and plotting to harm others.
This isn't some attack on freedom or privacy. Telegram is frankly a risk to all. If you want encrypted messaging there are many other platforms that are way less sketchy.
So what's the replacement?
For private messaging? Signal was always better. The way I use Telegram, and the way Telegram should be used, is like another public social media. I use it for following channels that give news about things I'm interested in.
Signal was always better
I love the premise of Signal, but there are too many red flags. Some of my issues are:
- Hostility against 3rd party clients
- US-based legal entity
- Too much tied with Google libs on android
- No official Fdroid support
- Open source claims are undermined by code blackouts from time to time.
Element 2.0 or Signal is only worth ones, I think.
But to be honest - it's only IP and phone number. If you have concerns about possibility of such request about your persona, you always can buy Telegram's anonymous phone number / fake telephone number / use VPN to login.
Just clarifying for the ones who don't know: Element is a Matrix client.
I prefer wire.
Unlike matrix, wire encrypts everything. Its not possible to send unencrypted messages on Wire.
Unlike Signal, you don't need a phone or a phone number to use Wire. Create an account with an anonymous email address directly on either the desktop app or the mobile app.
But to be honest - it's only IP and phone number.
what guarantees they won't hand over chat history? if police requested that, could they say no?
regarding its UX, nothing close exists; when it comes to converting normies, so you have someone to actually talk to, then there are no alternatives. that's a pretty shitty state of affairs for something that shoulda been solved a long time ago.
lesson learned, I guess, don't put all your eggs in one basket and have multiple fallback solutions. I've begrudingly moved to Signal and I'm cursing it out at least once per day, can't believe the navel-gazing, self-righteous cluelessness behind it; but that's the best there is at the moment. it's beyond shitty that we're having trouble achieving what we had in like 2012 by way of XMPP and friends, let alone surpassing.
It's shocking how many people just outright ignore UX.
I think https://simplex.chat/ has good UX, but I hear that telegram is best in class.
So far, irc, jabber/ xmpp and matrix and plain old email with gpg :-)
there's deltachat for gpg - i love the concept, since your friends don't even need to have it installed in order for you to chat with them.
but i am forever stuck with telegram because i refuse to install software running on set-my-computer-on-fire-pls-Electron (which every single MODERN chat application does today, bar Telegram).
How about something e2ee? (Even Whatsapp is more privat than telegram)
The first messenger without user IDs
Other apps have user IDs: Signal, Matrix, Session, Briar, Jami, Cwtch, etc. SimpleX does not, not even random numbers. This radically improves your privacy. Why user IDs are bad for privacy? How does SimpleX work? Security assessment
Shout out to right wing nuts for rushing to Telegram early on - keeping me from ever using it.
Good thing I never used telegram.
when free & democratic country jails your ass one time
"Protecting the children" is always code for "We're manufacturing consent to fuck you over."
It's not like they exactly didn't before: https://www.androidpolice.com/telegram-germany-user-data-surrendered/
Also, nothing said about whether they're going to start making transparency reports, not that I've expected anything else from this crapshow of a messenger...
Slashdot has a comparison of a few alternatives. My preference is Briar as my user name would indicate!