NEW DELHI: Telegram, a messaging app founded by Russian-born entrepreneur Pavel Durov, has been in the news for negative reasons. Durov was detained in France on August 24 over allegations of 12 criminal violations, including complicity in selling child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, fraud, abetting organised crime transactions, and refusing to share information with investigators. However, he was released on Wednesday after four days of questioning, upon paying a bail of 5 million euros and agreeing to report to a police station twice a week. But his arrest brought the app into limelight. Founded in 2013, Telegram is the only messaging app that competes with WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and others.
While it may not have the same user base as WhatsApp, it has gained traction in recent years due to its privacy, encryption, and open-source API. These features, along with the ability to use multiple devices with the same account and multiple accounts on the same device, have made it popular among certain users. In this article, we will explore Telegram’s features, the controversies surrounding it, and why it has been gaining traction.
Previous controversies
Before launching Telegram, Durov founded VKontakte, Russia’s largest social network. However, VKontakte faced significant pressure from the Russian government during and after the mass pro-democracy protests in Moscow in late 2011 and 2012. Authorities reportedly demanded that VKontakte remove online communities of Russian opposition activists and later sought personal data of users involved in the 2013 Ukrainian uprising that led to the removal of a pro-Kremlin president.
Under intense pressure, Durov sold his stake in VKontakte in 2014 and left Russia. Telegram is now based in Dubai, which Durov has described as “the best place for a neutral platform to defend our users’ privacy and freedom of speech.” In India, Telegram boasts of a user base of over 220 million users (as of August 2021). The app has faced scrutiny before; in October 2023, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a notice regarding the widespread dissemination of child pornography on the platform.
How Telegram works
With over 950 million active users, Telegram provides standard messaging app features like sending messages, creating group chats, making calls, video calls, and sharing files and stickers. Its standout feature is its emphasis on privacy. Telegram uses end-to-end encryption for calls and its secret chat function, ensuring that only the intended participants can access the content. Regular chats are encrypted client-to-server, while WhatsApp has employed end-to-end encryption for all messages, calls, and video calls since 2016. Telegram stores all messages and photos on a secure server or cloud, making it accessible from any connected device. This multi-platform capability sets it apart from other apps like WhatsApp. Additionally, users can create accounts with just a username, avoiding the need for a phone number. For enhanced privacy, users can generate a temporary QR code to connect without revealing personal details. Telegram supports file uploads up to 2GB, surpassing the limits of WhatsApp (100MB), WeChat (100MB), and Skype (300MB).
Your message is secured
Telegram is known for its high level of privacy and security. When using secret chats, messages are end-to-end encrypted. Users cannot forward or screenshot messages in secret chats and messages can be set to self-destruct. Additionally, deleting a message removes it for everyone on the service, and users can delete not just their own messages but also messages from others. It is also believed that selling data is not central to Telegram’s business model.
How it earns money
Basic chat functionality on Telegram is free. However, Telegram has introduced a premium subscription service with new monetisation methods, including ads on public channels, premium features for business teams and power users, and paid sticker packs. Some of these funds are used to enhance channel visibility or reward creators of unique sticker packs. Telegram Premium, costing around $5 per month, offers extra features such as the ability to post Stories, larger file uploads, premium stickers, and an ad-free experience