I switched from the most popular messenger app to the most popular alternative, but Telegram was not an improvement over WhatsApp for me.
I went from WhatsApp to Telegram
I have been a loyal user of WhatsApp since 2010 and during that time I saw no reason to switch to another service. But lately I heard more and more positive sounds about Telegram. I decided to give it a try, but my conclusion is that this was not a good idea.
Although WhatsApp and Telegram have quite a few similarities, there are also many differences. These similarities are obvious, but there are a few differences that made me come back to WhatsApp. I will explain them below.
1. Not everyone uses Telegram
This is for me the biggest drawback I encountered when I switched from WhatsApp to Telegram. There are quite a few friends and acquaintances who use Telegram now, but in my case not everyone. The difference is still enormous in my case. The result is that I started using both apps. That is of course perfectly possible, but it was not my intention. For that reason alone, a complete switch to Telegram is not a good idea for me.
2. WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption
Telegram does not use end-to-end encryption for regular chats, which is not good news when it comes to your privacy. Telegram does offer the option to start a secret chat. In that case, you still use end-to-end encryption. But WhatsApp encrypts all communication in this way by default, which is of course a lot more secure than what Telegram does. With automatically disappearing messages (Messages with expiration date) you can increase the security even further if desired.
3. Telegram is ‘cloud-based’
Unlike WhatsApp, Telegram stores all chats, photos and videos in the cloud. While this is in principle more convenient and you don’t lose storage space on your iPhone, you can have questions about it when it comes to security. WhatsApp does not do this yet. It is of course a personal thing, but I prefer the latter.
4. WhatsApp has a simpler interface
For me, WhatsApp’s interface is more user-friendly than Telegram’s. This is also a personal thing, but many people seem to agree. Users generally appreciate WhatsApp for its user-friendly interface, extensive features and ease of use. Telegram seems to score a bit worse in this regard.
5. In Telegram you suffer from spam
Last but not least: spam! In Telegram you regularly receive messages from strangers and those messages are nothing more than spam. Now you can easily block the sender, but personally I find it annoying that these kinds of messages just keep coming in. With WhatsApp I have never experienced that in all that time. For me an important reason to go back from Telegram to WhatsApp.
I went from Telegram back to WhatsApp
Of course, Telegram has a lot more to offer. Things that you don’t have on WhatsApp, for example, such as chat groups that can have up to 200,000 people and Telegram also has channels that can have an unlimited number of members. Telegram also works on your Apple Watch, unlike WhatsApp. But these are all things that I have never missed in WhatsApp. For me, they are not reasons to choose Telegram, but that can be different for everyone.
Something Telegram does have and that I miss on WhatsApp is the ability to schedule a message or send it ‘silently’. Handy when you’re awake for a long time and you want to send someone a message without waking them up. With Telegram you can send your message and indicate that it will be delivered at a certain time, or that it will be delivered immediately but without sound or vibration. In my opinion, WhatsApp should take over this from Telegram!
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I went from WhatsApp to Telegram (and it wasn’t a good idea)
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