People no longer use their mobile carriers to send and receive text messages and instead, they use instant messengers like WhatsApp and Telegram.
Even though the use of these applications is so widespread, very few people think about their privacy when using these apps for their messaging services. On a daily basis, different information goes through these applications and with the vast online presence of malicious hackers, it remains to be a question of when your messages will be targeted, or maybe they have already been a target of some wicked-minded programmer.
If you have never thought about the security of the information you send through WhatsApp, be it your banking information, your personal health information or family matters, it is time you give this matter a deep thinking.
WhatsApp and Telegram are two of the most used messaging applications and with these two, there comes some critical differences as far as privacy matters are concerned. Telegram is best known for its secure transmission of messages, but WhatsApp made a similar move towards the end of last year and included an end-to-end encryption to its messaging platform. So, which of these two are the best in terms of offering users with secure lines of chatting?
WhatsApp and Telegram encrypt messages before sending
As earlier noted, WhatsApp introduced encryption to their messaging system upon noticing that its competitor, Telegram, is already enjoying a tight security encryption protocol where all messages are encrypted before being sent and they can only be retrieved by the intended recipient after decryption. This has been the case of Telegram for quite some time and they have been working on improvements since its introduction.
WhatsApp on the other hand is still a novice in this niche and even though all data that goes through WhatsApp is encrypted, this protocol has just been implemented and it has yet to be perfected, which will take some time before becoming fully effective.
While WhatsApp may still be vulnerable to hackers, Telegram is past this phase with its encryption protocol.
Telegram allows messages to self-destruct
To add to this already tight security, Telegram also offers users with an additional security measure, just in case they feel the encryption isn’t enough. Telegram messages can be set to destroy themselves after a certain period of delivery to the recipient’s phone. This can be directed to happen even before the person the message was intended for, reads the message.
These messages can be set according to the sender’s discretion, be it a minute or even 3 days, after which the messages will be deleted.
WhatsApp has no such feature where messages can self-destroy once sent. This makes it less secure as compared to its counterpart.
final Verdict
WhatsApp is a leader when it comes to instant messaging. However, when security of chatting is on the table, Telegram has an upper hand with its highly encrypted messages in addition to the self-destruction feature of messages. Telegram is also available for free, unlike WhatsApp which is a paid for app after one year of free usage.
When thinking of security of chatting, think Telegram and you’ll be sure of your privacy. WhatsApp offers encryption too, but it’s young in the game, which means it might still be vulnerable to attacks.
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