Privacy: Use And Location Of Data
Every chat app claims to be safe and to respect the privacy of its users. The reality, unfortunately, is different. Like an instruction manual, we always read the FAQ* before signing up for any platform. Let’s explore together the two fundamental aspects of privacy protection:
Use Of User Data
Let’s be clear Facebook owns WhatsApp. It has unified the accounts of both services. Like Google, it uses the data it collects to train its machine learning algorithms* and, mainly, to improve its advertising tools. So WhatsApp protects its users’ data from cyber attacks, but no one covers it from the app’s owner. Conversely, Telegram does not collect user data, which is not analyzed and used for other purposes.
Data Location
WhatsApp conversation data is saved on the company’s central servers. On the other hand, Telegram uses a delocalized network of cloud servers, where the data is shredded and scattered across different locations. In this way, the data is more protected because it is much more challenging to reconstruct the original conversation or file.
Cybersecurity
Besides E2E* encryption and two-step verification, WhatsApp has no other user-level data protection technologies. Telegram, on the other hand, offers these three additional features:
- Account self-destruct: You can set a maximum amount of inactivity time, after which your account is automatically deleted.
- It works even without the phone number: you can use Telegram without associating your username with your phone number and searching for other users by nickname.
- Password protection: Telegram allows you to set a password to access your conversations to prevent strangers from viewing them.
Group Chatbots And Supergroups
In Telegram, creating a channel, group, and supergroup with timed chats is possible. For example, particular conversations self-destruct after a short time set by the user. This way, you can send an exclusive coupon to your subscribers and increase online sales. What do you say? The creation of the supergroup is the strong point of Telegram, as the number of subscribers has no limits, and the admins have additional functions called bots*.
The bots allow an immediate reaction from subscribers and give the possibility to answer surveys or insert liking emojis. How much is this worth for your web marketing strategy? I’ll name the bots among the most used: Pol and Love. The super group is ideal for sponsoring events and products; you could compare it to WhatsApp Business, but the reach would be higher if more users used Telegram.
Video Calls And Stories
WhatsApp offers the possibility of making both calls and video calls, even in groups, approaching more and more similar services to Skype. Telegram, on the other hand, is a messaging app limited to written interaction; at the moment, it only has the call. Furthermore, WhatsApp shows the precise time of the last access and allows you to create status updates. They work like the stories of other social networks, but it affects a WhatsApp Business account. Telegram only offers a fixed message in the channel. Do you know Instagram was the first social network to include stories and featured content?
File Sharing
Another highly sought-after feature is file sharing. Do you know the attached icon? Well, Telegram has no rivals: you can attach files up to a maximum of 1.5 GB without extension exclusion (beneficial for a workgroup) and create polls (also helpful in arranging a dinner with friends). WhatsApp no! In conclusion, Telegram offers a non-competitive security and entertainment approach. In a saving trend, the chat app remains active even “without a range,”so why is whatsapp the most popular messaging app? Which one do you use, and which aspects are helpful for your web marketing strategy?
Also Read: How To Get Started On Google Ad Grants For Nonprofits?
