TOBY SHAPSHAK: Why messaging privacy matters
Telegram and Signal are the main alternatives to WhatsApp because they promise greater security. You should use them
In recent years, while WhatsApp was being sued by privacy watchdogs in Europe for data infringements, messaging app Telegram was sued in Russia for refusing to compromise on its users’ privacy. Telegram prides itself on its encryption and privacy. It was created in 2013 by Pavel Durov (Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg) specifically to prevent the government from eavesdropping on its citizens. It had 200-million users, it said last March, including high-profile figures in Russia and Iran, where attempts have been made to shut it down. Prominent users include Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and many Russian politicians and civil servants. The state complains that the secure encryption enables terrorism. "Our policy is simple: privacy is paramount," Durov tweeted in 2015. "Public channels ... have nothing to do with privacy. Isis public channels will be blocked." Last May Russian users took to the streets to protest the government’s attempts to censor it. Having founded social med...
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