HOW TO CHAT ON TELEGRAM SAFELY AND PRIVATELY (ADV - Computers)
HOW TO CHAT ON TELEGRAM SAFELY AND PRIVATELY
Facebook's recently owned messenger WhatsApp has changed its privacy policy for user data. Many users did not like this step, and this led to some of them fleeing WhatsApp to other messengers, including Telegram. Apparently, it was this “exodus” that helped Telegram gain 25 million new users in just a few days – the messenger’s total audience now stands at more than 500 million users.
It's time to talk about how to act so that communication in Telegram is really safe and private.
Most importantly, Telegram does not use end-to-end encryption by default.
The first thing to know about Telegram is that "cloud" chats - as Telegram calls the standard type of chats that are used by default - do not use end-to-end encryption.
At the same time, there is end-to-end encryption in Telegram - it just needs to be enabled separately. Therefore, if you value the privacy of your data, you should not forget to use chats in which end-to-end encryption is enabled - Telegram calls them "secret" chats.
In "secret" chats, both text messages, and pictures, and videos, and all other files are transmitted using end-to-end encryption. Only the interlocutors have the decryption key, so Telegram cannot access this data.
Moreover, the contents of "secret" chats are not stored on Telegram's servers. "Secret" chats are stored only on the devices of the participants in the correspondence - as a result, they cannot be accessed from another device, plus they disappear when you exit Telegram and when you delete the application.
Security settings in Telegram
The first step is to make sure that someone does not read your correspondence at the moment when you accidentally left your unlocked device unattended. To do this, on the tab that opens, select the Passcode item, click Enable Passcode, come up with a PIN code that you will not forget, set it and confirm it.
After that, select the Auto-lock item and set some small value - one minute or five. If your device supports fingerprint or face recognition login, you can enable the corresponding option here.
The next step is to protect your account from hijacking using two-factor authentication. Since the primary way to confirm login to your Telegram account is a one-time code in SMS, the messenger offers to set a password as the second factor.
To do this, on the Privacy tab, select 2-Step Verification (on Android) or Cloud Password (on iOS) and set a password.
Privacy settings in Telegram
In order not to share unnecessary information with all 500 million Telegram users, I recommend these settings:
▪️Phone number — Who sees my phone number - Nobody.
▪️Phone number — Who can find me by number - My contacts.
▪️Last activity — Who sees when I'm online - Nobody.
▪️Profile photo — Who sees my photo - My contacts.
▪️Calls — Who can call me - My contacts (or Nobody, if you are not interested in this function at all).
▪️Calls — Peer-to-peer - My contacts (or Nobody, if you prefer not to share information about your IP address with interlocutors).
▪️Forwarding messages — Who can refer to my account when forwarding messages - My contacts.
▪️Groups and channels — Who can invite me - My contacts.
Telegram security for the most cautious
The above tips should be enough for most users, but for the more cautious, we have a few more tips:
Use a separate phone number to enter Telegram. Or maybe even a virtual phone number instead of a real mobile.
Turn on trusted VPNs to hide your IP address - Telegram can report it, for example, at the request of law enforcement.
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