Popular messaging app Telegram has recently become the target of serious criticism regarding its security and privacy. Professor Matthew Green, a cryptography expert at Johns Hopkins University, claims that Telegram’s description as an ‘encrypted messaging app’ is misleading users.
Doubts on Telegram continue
According to Green, Telegram does not use end-to-end encryption by default. Users have to manually enable the ‘Secret Chat’ feature to encrypt their private chats. Additionally, there is no end-to-end encryption in group chats at all.
Experts say that this allows Telegram to see and save the content of user messages. This poses a serious risk, especially for users who are sensitive about privacy, and reveals that Telegram’s feature, which distinguishes it from other messaging applications, is not very reliable.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s continued marketing of the platform as a “secure messaging app” has also been the focus of criticism. Green said he found it malicious that the app had not made any improvements in this regard for years and had even criticized other encrypted messaging apps.
The encryption protocol used by the application has also begun to be questioned by experts. Telegram’s use of a unique protocol called ‘MTProto 2.0’ and its non-standard features create concerns in terms of security.
Professor Green stresses that users need to be mindful of the privacy of not only the content of messages but also metadata, such as who spoke to whom and when. Such information is often unprotected and accessible to service providers, even when encryption is used.
Experts advise users to be more careful when choosing messaging apps and consider alternatives that offer end-to-end encryption by default. Rising concerns about privacy and security highlight the importance of users making more conscious choices in digital communication.
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