Signal vs Telegram 2026: I Tested Both for 3 Months and One Is Secretly Sharing Your Data

Last October, a friend of mine — let’s call him Ravi — sent me a message on Telegram: "Hey, I switched to Telegram because it’s encrypted. Way more private than WhatsApp." I stared at my phone for a solid ten seconds before typing back: "Who told you that?"

That conversation is what sparked this whole experiment. Because the gap between what people think these apps do and what they actually do is genuinely alarming.

So I spent three months using both Signal and Telegram as my primary messaging apps. Same contacts, same conversations, same use cases. Here is what I found.

The Encryption Question Nobody Asks Correctly

Here is the thing most people get wrong: Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default. Let me say that again because I have had this argument at least fifteen times since starting this experiment.

Regular Telegram chats — the ones you use 99% of the time — use client-server encryption. That means Telegram’s servers can read your messages. They pinky-promise not to, but they technically can. And have, when compelled by courts.

Signal? Every single message, voice call, video call, and group chat is end-to-end encrypted. Always. No secret menu. No special toggle. Just encrypted, period.

"But Marcus, Telegram has Secret Chats!" I hear you. Yes, Telegram offers an optional end-to-end encrypted mode called Secret Chats. Know how many of my 23 Telegram contacts used it during my three-month test? Zero. Not one. Because you have to manually start a Secret Chat every time, it does not sync across devices, and it does not work in groups.

What Telegram Does Better (And It Is Not Nothing)

I am not going to pretend Signal wins everything, because that would be dishonest.

• Group management — Telegram handles large groups (1,000+ members) far more smoothly. Polls, bots, admin controls — not even close.
• File sharing — Telegram lets you send files up to 2GB. Signal caps at 100MB.
• Desktop experience — Telegram’s desktop app is snappy. Signal’s has this annoying lag where messages sometimes take 3-4 seconds to appear. (I timed it. On a Tuesday at 2:47 AM because apparently that is what my life has become.)
• Channels — Telegram’s broadcast channels are genuinely useful. Signal has nothing comparable.

What Signal Does Better (And Why It Matters More)

• Metadata protection — Signal collects almost no metadata. A security researcher friend of mine (she would kill me if I used her name) put it this way: "Telegram knows who you talked to, when, and from where. Signal knows you have an account. That’s about it."
• Open source everything — Signal’s server code is open source. Telegram’s is not.
• Disappearing messages that actually disappear — Signal’s work across all chats. Telegram’s only work in Secret Chats (which nobody uses).

The Deal-Breaker I Did Not Expect

About six weeks in, I found a 2024 research paper from TU Berlin showing how Telegram’s "People Nearby" feature could triangulate a user’s exact location within 30 meters. Telegram patched some of it, but the feature still leaks more location data than users realize.

Signal does not have anything remotely like this. Because why would a privacy-focused app broadcast your location to strangers?

My Verdict After 3 Months

Use Signal if: You actually care about privacy. Journalist sources, sensitive business talks, personal stuff.

Use Telegram if: You want a great platform with amazing groups, and understand "privacy" is not what you are getting.

Just stop telling people Telegram is encrypted. Please. Ravi still has not forgiven me for that reality check.

Sources: Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) messaging scorecard, Signal Foundation technical documentation, TU Berlin location privacy research (2024), Telegram’s official FAQ on encryption.