Telegram, A next-generation end-to-end instant messenger, or just another whatsapp photocopy.

Repository

https://github.com/DrKLO/Telegram

Introduction

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Communication has been a very essential part of life since the beginning of days. As the world evolved, means of communication also evolved. First, it was letters sent via pigeons and then letters via a mail, then fax and etc. Fast forward to today technological advancements have changed the way we communicate and totally eliminated the barrier called distance. Now individuals can communicate comfortably to anyone in the world from anywhere using their mobile phones which are now so cheap that virtually everyone can afford. First, we started off with SMS and then MMS and then gradually smartphones and social media networks were developed and then the need for privacy in communicating online arose and today we have several instant messengers.
In this post, I'll be talking about the features of Telegram instant messenger that makes it better than big name instant messenger WhatsApp and why I think it's worthy to be called a next generation instant messenger. Although WhatsApp is not open source, I prefer to use it as the yardstick in this blog post.

Post Body

Telegram was officially released in the year 2013 meaning Telegram is just five(5) years old and within that short period of time has seen a tremendous increase in the number of end users yearly. Opensource softwares are not known to have that sort of shine. On google play store Telegram boasts of over 100,000 million+ official installs which is not a bad tally at all. WhatsApp on the hand have been existing for quite a long time now since the year 2009 in the era of java and Symbian phones till date.
Telegram boasts of a lot of interesting features and the features are why I think Telegram is better than Whatsapp.

Features of Telegram that makes it better than Whatsapp.

1. Account.

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The creation of accounts on Telegram is one of the coolest things there is. The account creation process is so fast and smooth. The ease in opening an account is not the only reason why Telegram is really cool because on Telegram users are allowed to create more than one account and receive messages on each one which something that is not so common among instant messengers. The maximum number of accounts a user can open is limited to just three though but it is better than just one. Furthermore, users can create usernames and URLs through which they can be added on Telegram without having to reveal their mobile number. On WhatsApp, a user is eligible to just one account per device except the software is cloned or a mod version of the software is installed on their device and a participant can only be added via their mobile numbers.
The only thing I find discouraging about multiple account feature on Telegram is that it is only privy to android users for now. Microsoft windows and ios users can't access this feature without third-party software, however since this was achievable on android, it's certainly going to be available to ios users in no time at all.

2. Almost unlimited file size sharing

File sharing in instant messengers is quite a common feature. However, Telegram is the only instant messenger I'm aware of that supports large file sharing. A massive 1.5 gigabytes limit and that's almost like it's limitless. This means I can send over to someone anywhere in the world a large video or any large file (not exceeding 1.5 gigabytes though) via telegram. This is absolutely breathtaking and overwhelming in my opinion although I've never tried and probably never will it's good to know that this is possible on Telegram. Whatsapp, on the other hand, fails woefully in this comparison once more, the maximum limit of file size to be shared is a meager 100mb and that's really poor when compared to that of Telegram.

3. Telegram channels and groups

Groups are common features on instant messengers too. It brings socialization into instant messengers by creating a space where more than two persons can interact among themselves. A channel is a medium through which you can broadcast any kind of message you intend to. This feature on Telegram is special because of its limits. Once again Telegram breaks barriers allowing users to set up groups and channels that can house a maximum of 100,000 participants.
This particular feature is one of the reasons why most token airdrops campaigns are carried out on Telegram because of its capacity to accommodate a large number of participants.

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It's safe to say that telegram can be used to run successful online campaigns, webinars etc. Certainly, this feature is available on WhatsApp but again very limited. Groups are limited to a maximum of 256 participants, channels on WhatsApp is called a broadcast list and is still also limited to 256 participants, however, multiple broadcast lists can be created.

4. Cloud-based messages.

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Telegram is cloud-based. This means messages chat histories etc can be accessed on any device that is connected to an account at once. This is not available on WhatsApp as users cannot set up an account on two devices. They can only sync between phone and PC but still one account.

5. Secret chat

Texting with a single participant can indirectly be called a secret chat because just the two persons involved are aware of the texts they share between themselves. On Telegram, this is quite tricky because Telegram messages like I stated earlier are cloud-based meaning that messages, drafts etc can be accessed by all devices connected to an account. However, if secret chat is initiated, chats can only be accessed on the device where the secret chat was initiated and also the device where the participant accepted.

Secret chats on Telegram

• It is end-to-end encrypted
• Leaves no trace on Telegram servers
• Have a self-destruct timer
• Does not allow message forwarding.

Whatsapp claims to be end-to-end encrypted, however, the credibility of this is still in doubts owing to the fact that Zuckerberg the CEO of Facebook bought over WhatsApp and was recently slammed for user privacy issues. There might be some possibility of this happening on Whatsapp too. This is just my thoughts and note certainty.

7. Bots

This is unarguably one of the best features on Telegram. Although I really don't know how these bots are created and integrated on Telegram judging from the fact that I'm not a developer, I've however seen it being implemented and used on groups and channels on Telegram, especially for airdrop campaigns. Bots can even serve as group admins and can be used to perform tasks programmed by the developer. This is a very useful feature and only a few messengers have this feature, discord, slack, wechat etc.
There are no bots on Whatsapp and I don't think it'll be implemented anytime soon.

8. UI customization

Customization has always been a catchy feature for me, especially interface customization. I like to personalize whatever device or software I lay my hands on. Telegram allows users to customize the UI however they like and I'm certain that there are a lot of users out there like me who find this feature very important. It's awkward how over the years WhatsApp hasn't provided users with something as basic as night feature which exists on almost every software there is. Users can only change chat background either to solid colors, inbuilt wallpapers or pictures on their gallery. This is really poor from WhatsApp in my opinion.

9. Text retract and edit.

Telegram developers took into consideration the fact that no one is perfect and we all can make mistakes at anytime even when typing a text. This feature allows users retract and also edit already sent messages. On WhatsApp users can only delete sent messages but don't have the option to edit.

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Summary

From all the features I could make mention of in this post, it shows that Telegram although just recently developed has the characteristics to be called a next-generation instant messenger. Although this post may seem to put Whatsapp in a bad way, Whatsapp is actually a cool instant messenger. In my country, Nigeria to be precise, Whatsapp has a higher penetration rate than Telegram and this is due to the fact that it came earlier even at a time when java and Symbian phones existed, so a lot of users are already accustomed to using Whatsapp. Although Whatsapp falls short in a lot of features than Telegram there are areas where it actually shines. Those areas or features will be discussed in my next blog post on this series.
Conclusively, like the post title suggests or asks "Is Telegram a next-generation instant messenger or just another Whatsapp photocopy?", it is safe to answer Yes Telegram is a next-generation instant messenger and sharing some similarities with Whatsapp doesn't mean it's a copy.

Resources

https://telegram.org/faq#q-how-is-telegram-different-from-whatsapp
https://faq.whatsapp.com/

Series Backlinks

This is the first post on this series.