Signal vs Telegram vs WhatsApp: comparison, advantages and disadvantages
There are several aspects that need to be analyzed in order to compare these three applications and their current domain in the field of instant messaging, so let's see:
Cryptography
Let's start the comparison with something very relevant, that is the encryption of each app that is, in this case, both Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp use end-to-end encryption, in fact WhatsApp and Signal use the same type of encryption, while Telegram uses its own encryption called MTProto.
However, Telegram doesn't encrypt all end-to-end chats by default, it only does it in secret chat which is a disadvantage, while WhatsApp and Signal do in all chats, adding features such as messages. Self-destruct, protection against screenshots, etc., which are one of its greatest advantages.
Although without secret chats Telegram continues to encrypt messages between the user and the cloud, many are not very happy with it as they would prefer the encryption to take place entirely at the sender and recipient without the need for intermediate servers.
So, although the three apps have encryption for their chats, only WhatsApp and Signal do it more wide and transparent, so in this respect both apps have a point in their favor that Telegram does not have.
Collection of metadata
Metadata is the information about a message being sent, without necessarily being the content of the message itself, i.e. the metadata is given as the date and time when the message was sent, the address from which it was sent, etc ...
Let's start talking about Telegram and it is that in this based service cloud , all your conversations, photos and non-private files will be stored (albeit also encrypted) on their servers. While it is not clear what metadata they store, it is possible that this is updated and retained for up to a year.
On the other hand, WhatsApp knows that accumulate many metadata about its users, such as phone and model, location, dates of use, IP addresses, telephone number, network operators, etc., which seen from a privacy point of view, is a disadvantage.
While Signal is the only one of the three applications that only stores the last connection (day) and the phone number of your account, so in this case Signal earns an extra point and reveals its most important advantage.
Additional privacy features
When it comes to privacy, WhatsApp doesn't have much to offer other than two-step verification and the ability to hide the time of the last connection, profile photo, who adds you in groups and status information, so the limited options can be considered one of its most notable drawbacks.
Signal doesn't let you manage who you don't want to see your profile photo, but at least it has advantageous options available like self-destructing messages, two-step verification, optional blocking against screenshots, messages without notifications and incognito keyboard.
Telegram also has advantages such as two-step verification, it also has an incognito keyboard, self-destructing messages, protection against screenshots in secret chats and a configuration that allows you to destroy or delete the account after a certain time of activity; All these Telegram and Signal options earn them points over WhatsApp in this regard.
Signal vs Telegram vs WhatsApp: Conclusion
Finally and taking into account all the factors analyzed, we can conclude that the big winner today is Signal, thanks to its settings related to the security and privacy, being a pioneer in this field, above WhatsApp and Telegram, in addition to its interface. use, but very useful, and for you which app is the best? Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp?
