Over a billion people around the world use WhatsApp, not everyone perhaps remembers or knows that this application has become the property of Facebook for a good 19 billion dollars towards the end of 2014. It literally wiped out the SMS and there is hardly a smartphone without WhatsApp installed today: recently, however, there has been a move that has alarmed quite a few users.
Let's talk about the notice of the start of the activities of data exchange between Facebook and WhatsApp that every user will have to undergo. We talked about it extensively in our dedicated article, here we want to focus on what is perhaps the best instant messaging app in existence but which many consider to be a alternative to WhatsApp: We are talking about Telegram.
What is Telegram and where to download it
Telegram (which you can download from Official site) is a messaging app focused on speed safety. It is available for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Windows 10 and other platforms. Telegram synchronizes instantly between all devices and can be used on desktops, tablets and phones: unlike WhatsApp, you don't necessarily have to have the app installed on your smartphone to use it from a PC too.
You can send an infinite number of messages, photos, videos and any type of file (.doc, .zip, .pdf, etc.). Telegram groups can have up to 5000 members and you can create channels to spread messages to an unlimited number of subscribers. In addition, in Telegram they are very popular bot, GIF e Stickers.
More info can be found in the following article:
Why use Telegram and not WhatsApp
Privacy aside, the reasons for using Telegram instead of WhatsApp are many. Furthermore Telegram is free, protects privacy (does not provide data to companies) and for those who want maximum privacy, Telegram offers Secret Chats. Secret Chat messages can be automatically self-destructed from both participant devices. This way all kinds of content can disappear - messages, photos, videos and even files. Secret Chats use end-to-end encryption to ensure that a message is only read by its intended recipient.
But now let's see together what other reasons are for preferring Telegram to WhatsApp.
GIF e Stickers
When it comes to aesthetics, Telegram has what will satisfy every taste. Ability to set backgrounds, use simple emojis but… that's not all: users also have a wide range of stickers (called Stickers) that are basically bigger than normal emoticons. And that's not all: Another advantage of Telegram is the native in-app support for GIFs, which means that users can view animated GIFs directly in the application. In WhatsApp, GIFs appear as static images and the support that is coming is less than that offered by Telegram.
Safety
Telegram was designed from day one to be completely secure and encrypted. The creators are so confident that they have challenged any potential hacker to try and find flaws in the application. If a hacker succeeds, there is a $ 300.000 prize up for grabs. The creators of Telegram specifically wanted to create an application that is resilient and safe against government security agencies and other forms of big brother-style monitoring.
Send any type of file
A messaging application is a handy tool for sending not only photos and videos but other types of files as well. PDF, DOC, PPT, etc. will not be a problem with Telegram: the app allows you to send any file of any format up to 1.5 GB in size with the simple touch of a button.
Integrated photo editor
If you want to take a photo, edit it and send it via Telegram, then you will be happy to know that there is a complete suite for photo editing. You can take a photo from within the app, and using the built-in editor to add filters, crop, refine and basically do whatever you want before sending the image with the push of a button.
Usare i nickname
While for WhatsApp it is necessary to add a phone number to be able to talk to another user, in Telegram you can also set a nickname. In this way, just type @nickname to search for a person who is not even in your contacts directory, and start talking to them!
Channels, groups and super groups
While WhatsApp has broadcast messages, Telegram has channels. It is a tool for conveying messages to a large audience. The channel has a permanent name (ID) and can have an unlimited number of members: you can create public or private channels, according to your needs, and they are heavily used by services or websites. Groups, on the other hand, are divided into groups and super groups. THE groups of Telegram are ideal for sharing content with friends and family, or collaborators in small teams. They can have up to 200 members and by default anyone can invite new people and change the group name and photo.
If the group grows and expands, you can upgrade and make it a supergroup more centralized. Supergroups can have up to 5000 members and have a unified history, deleted messages disappear for everyone.
Bot
Another strength of Telegram are the bots, or automatic contacts able to perform numerous actions for us simply from within the conversation.
Conclusions
The real "Achilles heel" of Telegram is that it is not very widespread among the townspeople: therefore you will hardly appreciate this app if you do not use it for a long time. This means that your friends will also have to use it otherwise you will end up with a beautiful but not usable product. Will you give Telegram a chance?
