So we want free apps that offer everything and don’t take your data or advertise. It must also have constant security updates and a fleet of developers keeping it running. Good Luck finding that unicorn.
I actually like this development. I’d much rather pay for a service with money over my privacy.
Signal literally exists. Free.
signal is the perfect messaging app for normies
I would generally agree with you, if it could allow you to sign-in on multiple devices, and share message history. I understand why it doesn’t do either one, but it does cripple the experience
Technically, you can sign in on multiple devices and share history. I share between my phone and multiple desktops. You just can’t do it between two mobile devices.
But… you can’t sign-in on multiple devices and see the message history there?!
You can once they have both been set up, the history from that point on is shared.
Yeah you can. I have it synced on desktop, phone, laptop. The kicker is that it will only have messages starting from when you synced and log in. If I added a new device, it would not see messages from yesterday, however it will start syncing from all devices from that point on.
signal is the perfect messaging app for normies
But Signal doesn’t let me restrict receiving voice messages either. I only found options regarding calls, not voice messages.
No. History is not synced between devices. Did not use it on windows? - deliniced and after relink you have no history again. It annoys with entering a password. Migration to a new phone backup to s file, somehow copy the file to a new phone, restore - not for normied.
signal has same e2e encryption as WhatsApp and requires your phone number: same level of privacy,much worse user experience, much less features. Not a great option for normies.
its a sacrifice one must make. also whatsapp is closed source so e2e is as good as nothing
I definitely prefer premium over my personal data being the product for “free”.
As I get older I’m appreciating paid electronic services and content when done responsibly in exchange for a private ad-free and well done experience. But it’s taking a lot to get over my decades of conditioning assuming everything on a computer and internet should be “free”.
I’ve enjoyed my kagi premium search trial and seeing the prices is a bit much. But getting really good search results and having the webpage or search run so fast and seeing my ad blocker greyed out because there were no ads and trackers to block is surreal this day and age.
I just wish we had a better way of trusting telegram. The only thing encrypted by default is secret chats. I’d buy premium if it made all chats including group chats started by the user encrypted by default.
Yeah, problem with the fremium model is that they usually still collect and sell information on their premium users just the same as their free users. The premium just add some semi-essential features that they cut out for the free users. And finding truly 100% premium services that don’t sell personal data is rare these days because that’s where the money is for now, information. I don’t mind paying for a good service, but I won’t both pay and share my personal information, that’s just paying twice.
The issue is that is that now they have your billing address and credit card number
privacy dot com.
That place keeps working for less and less services. I used to use it for everything
I totally agree with you, but it’s the damn cable model all over again.
Pay us so we don’t have to make money by selling you stuff.
Hey, we can still make money by selling them stuff.
Never noticed because I’ve never received a single voice message in the 5+ years of using it. Then again, I only use it with friends and not large communities. I’ve had spam messages, but they’re rare and just text talking about crypto.
And thats why I switched to Matrix and set up a Telegram bridge.
I avoided using telegram when it asked for my phone number.
I avoided using telegram when it asked for my phone number.
So you don’t use Signal and Element either?
Nope
Annnnnnnnnnd…Signal!
Signal is superior in all the important security ways anyway. You’re not losing much except stickies and emotes or whatever.
Signal is only good at doing one thing, and that’s encryption. It lacks so many useful features that Telegram has.
Such as?
The user interface itself is amazing, true seamless multiple device support - including web clients (with your drafts synced on all your devices too), live location sharing, polls, live voice channels, good stickers, bots, public groups/channels, 2gb file sharing, video messages, usernames, etc.
Okay, so why are you claiming it “only does one thing well”?
Because the only good thing about Signal is it’s encryption.
Well, that’s subjective, but okay
I know, I only use Signal ! But tell that to all the others who explain to my why Whatsapp is so much better…
I’ll stick with Signal thanks
Signal can block voice messages? How?
I switched all of my friends and family to telegram in 2013. I deleted it 2 months ago. 10 years.
Telegram was so great. Always cutting edge, released so many features before anyone else, and the app always stayed extremely lightweight. What broke the camels back for me was them destroying transfer speeds for free users.
I have 1gbps internet connection, and videos and photos take FOREVER to download and send on telegram. Trying to send a short 30 second clip on telegram takes a good 90-120 seconds, even on the lowest compression.
Meanwhile snapchat and other apps take 3 seconds and look better?
They are trying to push their premium so hard, which is fine, gotta pay, but I’m sorry there’s no chance in hell all of my friends and family are paying $7 CAD each per month.
At this point I’ve just switched to RCS messages for all of my Android friends, and Snapchat for my stubborn iOS friends.
For a long time it was ran on money that Durov made from VK and it’s selling deal and had no ads, almost perfect development. It was a ton of money obviously, but we all knew it would run out sooner or later and then everything would change. I bought premium once because I wanted to support the project, and I still use it. Hopefully I won’t have to use anything else, because I hate almost any other messenger.
Edit: forgot “would”
EXACTLY.
Everyone else here is forgetting that Telegram is still pushing the limits and it’s still one of the best app for messaging (the best in my opinion though), if they’re recurring to this, it’s because money aren’t unlimited.
Shut the hell up you people: Telegram still isn’t invading privacy and using anti-user practice, the hell you complaining about?
Thank you. I would love to support telegram with premium because they’ve done so much in the past couple years but can’t because I can’t buy premium where I live.
The main thing that frustrates me is not being able to turn off the emoji interface in their official app.
Same, I don’t want stickers, emojis, gifs. My phone and 4G connection really don’t like them but there’s no way to switch them off
Serious question - isn’t snapchat an absolutely horrible messaging experience? The messages literally disappear, the app is shit, and the messaging interface is shit. And you can see when someone is actively reading the message. I hate all of that.
Do people seriously use it for day to day messaging with people?
Well I don’t really care to save chat logs from my friends. If they send something “important”, I can save it in the chat so it never disappears, or I can screenshot it.
They only disappear after 24 hours unless you save them by tapping on them. Depending on your relationship, that could be a good thing. I mean Telegram added disappearing messages for a reason.
Yes, millions and millions of people use it daily. It’s the easiest way to send videos and photos to friends. I send so much stuff to my girlfriend and vice versa that doesn’t sit in my messenger and clog it up. Meanwhile my Telegram chats are full of tens of thousands of photos and 99.9% of them are garbage that I wish didn’t exist still like selfies of me making stupid faces.
I’m not acting like snapchat is private, or that screenshots don’t exist. They do, I don’t care. It’s just nice that if I send my friends a stupid selfie, or my girlfriend a lewd, they are not sitting in their messenger for them to come across a few months or years later making shit awkward.
That is fair, I respect that. I think I’m just used to being able to go back and reference something we said to each other from the past.
Thanks for the response!
I keep forgetting why sometimes I even use Telegram. It’s just there. I don’t want their dumb subscription.
I just use telegram for the occasional bit of sailing the high seas
WTF?
Well I don’t think you can turn off receiving voice messages in other messengers, either. It’s a weird premium-only feature, but eh, at least they’re not making things worse compared to the baseline.
You can just turn off receiving all messages from any user. This is specifically for people who told their friends that they don’t want to listen to voice messages and want texts, but friends still use voices. Every one I know has a friend like that.
But even then they have a feature to transcribe them for you. Also Premium though, hehe
What bugs me about Telegram is all the messages by scammers posing as pretty women. I seriously get one every day.
I never get those, can’t you just block them?
I do. But new ones pop up every day
deleted by creator
My friend who’s very non-privacy conscious gets these messages a ton, but I’ve never received one.
I assume it has something to do with him giving him number to some sketch company a while back
Ye I gave my number to a recruiting agency many years ago when I was looking for a job. The first time I received spam/phishing via Telegram they said they were recruiters. I blocked them but the spam keeps on coming from different accounts that get deleted on the same day
Just use another Client.
telegram, originated from our russian friends, and they use it heavely to push their views, eventhough i think that everybody should be able to express their views, still i would not like that my kids would use it, hence it is blocked @ home.
Using telegram for years. Its the best messenger.
Don’t have any troubles. I can use e2e-chats if needed.
I truely trust them. Besides, their Android client has the best Android source code I have ever seen. Very good resource.
Your response reads like a paid AstroTurf comment.
Putting the ability to block or restrict receiving something behind a paid subscription is batshit crazy. That is an extremely shitty thing to do and will just result in people not using the service entirely as soon as they try to block something like spam or harassing messages. Just because you don’t run into any problems with how you use it, that doesn’t mean there aren’t issues people run into daily.
I’m always wary of those who support enshittifying decisions like these. There’s almost always an agenda, or an astounding level of ignorance.
I can block user without problems. Plus I can decide for each one my own privacy settings.
I don’t see it. There isn’t even any option to buy premium. And I just updated…
🌟 Restrict Voice Messages
Premium subscribers can control who is able to send them voice and video messages.
https://t.me/premium/134 (link tries to open in telegram app if you have it installed and may display differently than if you do not use their service).
I’m not going to put any more effort into this conversation for a service that I will never use clearly charging a premium for basic privacy/safety settings like controlling who can send them certain types of messages.
Thanks I see. Didn’t know other messengers allow that by default. You are right that I am unaffected.
