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Unlike Signal, Telegram chats aren’t end-to-end encrypted. You only get server-side encryption by default. But if you want full encryption, you need to enter a separate Secret Chat mode. Here’s how to start an encrypted Secret Chat in Telegram. What Is Secret Chat in Telegram? When it comes to security and privacy, Telegram is much better than popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Telegram is open-source, and all of its code is available online for verification by security experts. But by default, Telegram only offers server-side encryption. Telegram syncs your data (messages, media, and groups) between all your devices and uploads it to its servers by default. All the data in Telegram’s server is encrypted. This means that you are safe from your internet service provider, Wi-Fi router interception, and other third parties. But Telegram itself might still be able to access your data (if they really wanted to). According to Telegram, its … [Read more...] about How to Start an Encrypted Secret Chat in Telegram

While Telegram has a phone number-based authentication system, you can easily use the app without sharing any of your contacts. Telegram will still let you add users, and others can find you using your username. By default, Telegram syncs your contacts to its servers. When a new contact joins, you get a notification about it. Your contact will also come to know that you’re using Telegram. If you want to keep your identity private, you can stop the Contact Sync feature. Telegram will still continue to work as it normally does. You can add users using their username, or you can create a separate contact in the Telegram app. Here’s how it works on the Telegram app for Android and iPhone . Stop Contact Sharing in Telegram on Android You can stop contact syncing in Telegram for Android from the Settings menu. To get started, open the Telegram app on your Android smartphone and tap the three-line menu icon from the top-left corner. Here, choose the “Settings” option. … [Read more...] about How to Use Telegram Without Sharing Your Contacts

CES looked a bit different this year after going all-digital, but that didn’t stop companies from unveiling new products. After careful deliberation, the How-To Geek and Review Geek teams have awarded the following 11 products with How-To Geek’s Best of CES 2021 awards. Before jumping into the awards, Review Geek has been hard at work covering all of the CES 2021 announcements that you need to know about. Head on over there if you’ve missed anything from the internationally renowned trade show. Best in Show: Kensington StudioDock In order to stand out from everything announced at CES 2021 and win Best in Show, a product needs to make an entrance. The Kensington StudioDock did just that, causing most of the team to say, “I want that.” Using the StudioDock in conjunction with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, you can turn your iPad Pro or Air into an iPadOS iMac. Use the two built-in wireless chargers and the optional Apple Watch charger (which is coming soon) and … [Read more...] about Best of CES 2021: The Top Products Coming This Year

Telegram and Signal are widely popular privacy-focused messaging apps. However, the two apps have some big differences : While all messages sent via Signal are always end-to-end encrypted by default, Telegram messages aren’t. End-to-end encryption is an optional feature in Telegram. Why End-to-End Encryption Matters End-to-end encryption means that only the sender and the receiver of a message can see its contents. Not even the company running the server in the middle of the conversations can see the contents of the communications. With Signal, all conversations are always end-to-end encrypted: The Signal Foundation can’t see the contents of the messages. With Telegram, the company in charge of Telegram is technically capable of seeing the contents of the messages on its servers. There is still some encryption in Telegram, of course: Encryption is used to transmit messages between your Telegram app, Telegram’s servers, and the other person’s Telegram app. Your … [Read more...] about PSA: Telegram Chats Aren’t End-to-End Encrypted by Default

You might think that switching from Facebook Messenger to old-fashioned text messages would help protect your privacy. But standard SMS text messages aren’t very private or secure. SMS is like fax —an old, outdated standard that refuses to go away. Your Cellular Carrier Can See Your SMS Messages With SMS, messages you send are not end-to-end encrypted. Your cellular provider can see the contents of messages you send and receive. Those messages are stored on your cellular provider’s systems—so, instead of a tech company like Facebook seeing your messages, your cellular provider can see your messages. Cellular carriers store the contents of those messages for various amounts of time . Messages are often only retained for several days, but they store metadata (which number sent a message to which number, and at what time) for even longer. These records could be subject to subpoena in legal proceedings—for example, text message records are a common form of evidence in divorce … [Read more...] about Why SMS Text Messages Aren’t Private or Secure