As both Telegram and Signal require a phone number to register, so how are they better than Whatsapp in terms of privacy etc.?
What other apps can do something like this? Is it safe to use banking apps in phones?
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/facebook-secretly-spied-on-snapchat-usage-to-confuse-advertisers-court-docs-say/
Lastly telegram has bots and channels which can be used to download movies, books or videos from other social media websites. Can these companies take action against a downloader for piracy?
In: Technology
I am on mobile and there’s a lot to go over here, so apologies in advance.
> Telegram/Signal
So first off telegram isn’t secure or private in the ways Signal is. Your correct that they both require a phone number, in Signals case all they store is your phone number, when the account was created and when it was last assessed signals services [this has been proven in court many times](https://signal.org/bigbrother/cd-california-grand-jury/).
Telegram stores much more info by default, it is possible to have private chats via telegram but it’s not the default.
> how are they better than Whatsapp in terms of privacy etc.?
Signal is better because they don’t store anything beyond phone number, account creation time and last used time. Whatsapp stores MUCH MUCH more, for example who you messaged, when you messaged them etc. and while this may not seem to be enough information, it’s enough for government to target individuals for drone strikes (to use an extreme example).
> Is it safe to use banking apps in phones?
Define safe? In general it is better to use the browser version on a computer, vs an app. (This is a whole topic onto itself).
> Can these companies take action against a downloader for piracy?
In theory yes, in practice they just get the channel banned.
Hope that helps, will expand later.
Telegram definitely isn’t more secure than Signal – It’s owned by Russian company, who is subject to, well, Russia and its draconian internet laws.
But why you can use it for illegal stuff – Russian cops only care that you’re not criticizing the government, they don’t give a rat’s ass about stealing foreign media or selling drugs and such. Russia is paradoxically very authoritarian AND quite free country; the public unwritten rule is that you’re free to do almost whatever you want as long as you don’t stick your nose in politics.
And since it’s Russian, it’s not like Disney or Paramount or Ubisoft or whoever could do much about it.
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