Why Is Telegram So Special?

Telegram is a great app for many different reasons. Not only is it completely open source, but it is free, with no ads, and it is secure. 

Security is something very important to us in this day and age. Have you ever been using messenger on Facebook or maybe just regular text messaging from your phone, and something strange happened? Maybe you or someone that you were talking to happened to mention something out of the ordinary. Next thing you know, you see an advertisement for whatever you mentioned! This has happened to me a number of times. One specific incident was when I was Talking to a friend who had some led lights for sale. I simply sent them a text message that said something like ‘hey can I buy one of those LED lights you have?’ Literally less than two minutes later I get a text message from ‘wish.com’ with an advertisement saying ‘click here for LED lights.’ Coincidence? Maybe, but unlikely because this was not the first time something like this occurred. 

It’s even more evident on apps that have ads in them. Most ads, no matter what business, you see on the internet belong to Google or Facebook. After all, if they don’t charge you for their service, where do you think that they make their money from? There is a saying that goes ‘if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product.’ That means that all the business owners that want to advertise their website, their product, or service, Google and Facebook's actual customer. Because they are the ones who end up paying Google and Facebook money, and then Google and Facebook guarantee them, that for the money they paid, they will get more traffic or sales on their website. 

They do this by ‘listening’ in on your conversations, your emails, your instant messages, text messages, and even when your phone is on the table and you are talking to your friends in person. They have advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence that listening for key words like ‘where can I get, or I want to buy, or I need to get’ and when they hear that they know that the next word you say will be an item that one of the websites that pays them is selling. Don’t believe me? Try it yourself. 

Go ahead and open up your text messages and send a message to a friend of yours. You can even tell them your plan so that they are not confused. Then start talking about something that you have never talked about before. A good example would be to mention something like ‘skydiving.’ Start sending messages to your friend that say things like, ‘I want to go skydiving. Where can I go Skydiving? We should go skydiving together. I want to buy some skydiving gear. What gear should I take Skydiving with me?' Then it will work best if you search for skydiving in Google too. After you do this pay close attention to the advertisements you start to see. 

If you're thinking, so what? That's not a big deal! Think again. Chances are that you have heard the name Edward Snowden before. He was a young man that worked for the CIA and the NSA. 

While working there he came across a computer program that the government was using on a daily basis that scared him very much. He learned that an official governemnt program called PRISM was collecting and recording every single message that you have ever sent to anyone! It was recording every single voice phone call you ever made, and every single email you have ever typed or forwarded. Even if you deleted something the government still had it and could access and read it with a click of a single button. All without having to have any 'probable cause,' 'suspicion,' or a single warrant from a judge. He made a brave decision to collect and steal thousands of documents that were irrefutable proof that PRISM was operational and of its capabilities. He gave up his high paying job and his comfortable life so that the world would know this was going on!

What does this have to do with Telegram?

Although after the world found out about the PRISM program, changes were made, but they didn't get rid of the capabilities. So your messages and phone calls and your GPS data is still very accessible by these major corporations like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and by your government. Companies like Atnt, Spectrum, t-mobile, cricket, etc, all work hand in hand with the governemnt and make all of your information accecible to them. Even if you are one of those people that says 'I have nothing to hide' what about your passwords? Your bank information? If it is all saved somewhere that doesn't mean it can't fall into the wrong hands. What if you have an incredible idea for an app? Or a new business? Don't you want to be able to discuss these plans with someone and know that your conversations are secure?

This is why telegram is SO important! They are a small company and one of the only ones that cares more about its service than money. In a world where most of our communications are being monitored they offer a way to text, call, send files and more absolutely securely! 

Normally, if you are sitting at home and you send a message to someone, it can be seen by; your cell phone carrier, your internet service provider, Apple and/or Google and/or Facebook, the recipients internet service provider, and their mobile carrier. Then it is shared with the government or governments if other countries are involved. Your info is also sold to company's like Amazon and Wish. 

The only way to stop this is to use a service like Telegram provides. They have two types of encryption. Everything is automatically server-client encrypted. They use a SHA-256 bit encryption same as crypto currencys such as bitcoin because that type of encryption is impossible to break. To be more specific, the amount of time that the strongest computers in the world would take to break this encryption is simply: forever. We don't have the necessary computing power to break this encryption and wont any time soon. That's how advanced the security is for every meme that you send through Telegram. That's only the security for the regular group and instant messages you send. Telegram also has a 'secret message' option that uses an even more advanced end to end encryption or E2EE. This is absolutely impossible for even the Telegram team to see! Instead of routing through their servers it is a direct encryption from one person to another! Their voice calls and even video calls are all end to end encrypted! To start a 'secret chat' with someone all you have to do is simply long press on their name and click on 'secret chat' It's that simple! 

Technology is evolving at an insanely rapid pace, and we are growing more and more dependant on technology and digital communications. There are cameras everywhere, some places even have facial recognition software. As our convenience grows our privacy shrinks. This makes Telegram an extremely vital and important service that we should all support and take advantage of.

Imagine a dystopian future like the one in the 'Terminator' movie. 

Skynet, the artificial intelligence controls all electronics and the human race is sent back to the stone age. The only hope we have left is the resistance led by John Connor who takes a stand and fights against the machines. If they had Telegram, John would be able to communicate with other resistance members and set up a coordinated attack, one that Skynet would never know about because not even Skynet would be able to crack Telegrams end to end encryption. 

But in a more realistic situation, over the past couple years, there have been protests for different reasons all over the world. Here in the United States of America, we have seen mass numbers of people, protesting all across the country, coast to coast. These mostly started as peaceful protests mainly against the unwarranted brutality of the police state and the execution of unarmed, black individuals. However the peace was broken when protesters were shot at with less lethal weapons like tear gas and bean bags. It's safe to say that the police used one of the toys in their arsenal called a 'Stinger.' 

A stinger is a device that was built for the military but is now used by the police and FBI. It acts as a cell phone tower, forcing all the cellular devices in a certain area to connect to it. 

The officers can single in on a specific device via the IMEI number and intercept all phone calls it makes, texts it sends, and can even pinpoint the exact location of the connected device in real time. Although this may seem like a dystopian weapon to those unfamiliar with it, this is a very real, and completely clandestine device in use today, throughout the United States and other countries worldwide. While this may seem like an unfair advantage and a complete invasion of privacy, congress still allows the police to use it against citizens of America. Protesters may be trying to plan a get together or March of some kind, but the police would be able to know all about it and shut it down before it ever even starts. Weather or not you personally support the police or support the protesters, I think we can all agree it is an unfair advantage. Luckily one thing that the stinger will never be able to do is read your Telegram messages or hear your Telegram voice and video calls! It does have the power to lock your device out of any network so you won't have the internet and wont be able to use Telegram, but your messages will always be safe regardless.