The situation between WhatsApp and Telegram is “hot”. After WhatsApp went so far as to imitate some of Telegram’s features and functions, and Meta (its parent company) recently copied its channels to implement them on Instagram (later also on Facebook and Messenger), WhatsApp’s CEO has shared some serious statements about its biggest rival in the market.
Following a Wired article titled “The Kremlin has entered the chat” (a clear allusion to the automatic message that appears in a group chat when a new member enters), in which Telegram is accused of being controlled by the Kremlin (the Russian government), Will Cathcart, the CEO of WhatsApp, has added fuel to the fire, adding that the platform does not offer end-to-end encryption by default and that this is completely absent in groups.
The executive added that Telegram’s end-to-end encryption (E2EE) protocols, cannot be verified on an individual basis, and claims that Telegram is deprived of the transparency that many other companies (including his own company, WhatsApp) have adopted.
In addition, Cathcart mentioned that Telegram APIs are used for mass surveillance, a claim that has been backed up by Jordan Wildon, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue who agrees with the executive’s assertion that any Telegram user within a 3-kilometer radius can be tracked if they activate their location.
In response to the recent accusations (which, in Cathcart’s case, ended with a recommendation to use any messaging app but Telegram), a Telegram spokesperson claims that both the Wired article and the WhatsApp CEO’s accusations are based on “mistakes”. The platform has detailed nine errors in an article, and claims that Wired’s editorial team overlooked Telegram’s responses.
Telegram mentions that location tracking via API is only possible in cases where a user shares their location publicly. The platform claims that Telegram’s protocol is verified by a team from the University of Udine and that, in addition, the app also recommends users to check ID fingerprints.
