‘How Telegram Played Itself’

Casey Newton discusses Telegram's encryption and security features, highlighting that it is not end-to-end encrypted like WhatsApp and Signal. Telegram's "secret chat" feature is end-to-end encrypted, but it is not enabled by default and has several limitations. This makes Telegram vulnerable to law enforcement requests for data. Telegram uses a distributed infrastructure to protect data, with decryption keys split across different jurisdictions, requiring multiple court orders to access data. Despite this, Telegram has been linked to the spread of CSAM due to its tolerance of such content and lack of engagement with law enforcement. Ben Thompson explains that Telegram's "secret chats" have oddities, including non-standard encryption techniques and limitations on device access.