Meta boss warns millions to delete popular app right now and brands it ‘Russian spyware’
MILLIONS of users have been warned to delete the Telegram app by the head of WhatsApp at Meta.
Will Cathcart, who leads WhatsApp, had a chilling warning for users of the Telegram app.
Telegram is a cloud-based global messaging service that claims to be encrypted.
In an extensive Twitter thread, the Meta executive calls the app "Russian spyware" and discourages people from using it.
"Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default and offers no e2ee for groups," Cathcart said on his Twitter thread.
E2EE is a method of secure communication that prevents third parties from accessing data traveling between systems.
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Cathcart cited a recently published article by Wired journalist Darren Loucaides, quoting from the story: "Telegram has the capacity to share nearly any confidential information a government requests."
According to Loucaides' article, Telegram's E2EE protocols lack independent verification and transparency.
This, in turn, had led to the app hosting many third-party eavesdroppers like the Kremlin, the journalist says.
In addition to not securing people’s messages, Cathcart claimed that Telegram’s blunders may be putting people at risk.
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Cathcart pointed to a Telegram API "that seems to allow access to user content for mass surveillance."
At the end of his Twitter thread, Cathcart reiterates to people to not use Telegram.
"Of course, I recognize that some will say I’m self-interested in critiquing Telegram," he said. "But there are many other great end-to-end encrypted messaging apps people can choose from."
In response to Cathcart's comments, Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn told GSMARENA that Wired's reporting was inaccurate.
Vaughn also claims that Wired ignored communications from Telegram, which in turn misled Cathcart.
Oh, Telegram
Launched in 2013, Telegram was developed in Russia by brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov.
Since then, the app has been surrounded by controversy relating to terrorism, sexual exploitation, and crime.
Most recently, the app found itself in the middle of the Russia-Ukraine war.
According to Engadget, Pavel Durov found himself struggling with how to control misinformation on the platform.
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He implored users to be vigilant of the things shared on Channels and even threatened to block the feature in the countries involved for the duration of the war.
However, Durov decided not to go that route when he realized that it had become an important communication tool for Ukrainian officials and citizens.