How safe is Telegram in 2025? What you should know, and how to protect yourself

Telegram ليس مشفّرًا من طرف إلى طرف افتراضيًا

على عكس تطبيقات منافسة مثل Signal وWhatsApp، **لا يوفّر Telegram التشفير من طرف إلى طرف(e2e) بشكل افتراضي لجميع المحادثات. فقط المحادثات السرية تستخدم هذا المستوى من الحماية، ويجب عليك تفعيلها يدويًا. تُخزَّن المحادثات العادية على خوادم Telegram، وتكون مشفّرة أثناء النقل فقط.

هذا يعني أن Telegram — وأي جهة لديها إمكانية الوصول إلى خوادمه — يمكنها قراءة رسائلك ما لم تكن تستخدم المحادثات السرية. إذا كنت تتواصل بشأن أي أمر حساس عبر Telegram، تأكد من أنه ضمن وضع المحادثة السرية.

راحة قائمة على السحابة مقابل مقايضات في الخصوصية

يتيح لك نموذج Telegram القائم على السحابة الوصول إلى رسائلك عبر أجهزة متعددة بسهولة. لكن هذه الراحة تأتي على حساب تخزين البيانات على الخادم. هذا يعني أن محتوى محادثاتك سيكون عرضة للخطر إذا تم اختراق خوادم Telegram في أي وقت.

هذه الرسائل المخزَّنة غير مشفّرة من طرف إلى طرف، ويمكن أن يصل إليها Telegram، أو المخترقون، أو الحكومات التي تطلب بيانات المستخدمين.

كشف البيانات الوصفية وعنوان IP

حتى لو كنت تستخدم المحادثات السرية، لا يزال Telegram يسجّل البيانات الوصفية مثل تفاعلات جهات الاتصال، والطوابع الزمنية، وبالطبع عنوان IP الخاص بك. يمكن استخدام هذه السجلات لإعادة بناء أنماط تواصلك، بل والكشف عن موقعك أو هويتك: كل ذلك رغم أي تشفير.

To prevent this type of surveillance, pair Telegram with tools that mask your network activity, like a decentralized VPN (dVPN).

Is Telegram open source?

Telegram’s client-side code is partially open-source, which lets developers inspect how the app works. However, its server-side code — the part that stores and routes your data — is closed-source.

Without full open-source transparency, users can’t verify what’s happening with their data on the backend. This leaves room for potential vulnerabilities or backdoors.

Telegram's group chats reconsidered

Telegram’s group chats can host thousands of members, making them powerful for organizing. Unfortunately, these chats are not always private. By default, group messages are not end-to-end encrypted, meaning Telegram and anyone in the chat can read them if it chooses or is compelled to.

Additionally, group metadata — such as participant lists, message timestamps, and IP addresses — can be logged and stored. This can pose risks for users participating in politically sensitive or high-risk groups.

But there are things you can do to protect your privacy in group chats:

• Avoid linking your real phone number to your account
• Use Secret Chats for one-on-one coordination instead
• Pair Telegram with NymVPN to mask your IP address and obscure your digital trail from malicious actors

Telegram and contact syncing: A hidden risk

Telegram automatically asks to sync your contact list to help you find friends. While this can be convenient, it also means Telegram stores your entire contact book on its servers, including names, phone numbers, and metadata like who you’ve messaged.

Even if your contacts don’t use Telegram, their information may be stored and potentially exposed if Telegram is ever breached. To disable contact syncing:

1. Go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Data Settings
2. Toggle off Sync Contacts and delete synced data

Telegram privacy vulnerabilities

As we’ve seen, Telegram has a number of known privacy weaknesses:

• Lack of default end-to-end encryption: Unless you're using Secret Chats, your conversations are stored on Telegram’s servers and can be accessed.
• Closed-source backend: Without public access to the server code, it’s impossible to verify what happens to your data.
• IP and metadata logging: Telegram records your IP address, contact interactions, and other metadata, which could be used to track you.
• Cloud storage of messages: All regular chats are stored in the cloud, making them accessible to Telegram or third parties.
• Phone number requirement: Telegram requires a phone number to create an account, reducing anonymity.

How to improve your privacy on Telegram

While Telegram isn’t the most secure messaging app by default, you can take steps to make it more private. Each solution below includes what it is and how to implement it.

Use Secret Chats when needed

Secret Chats provide end-to-end encryption and can’t be accessed by Telegram servers. To start one:

1. Tap a contact
2. Choose Start Secret Chat

Turn off cloud-based auto-downloads

This prevents media from being stored on Telegram’s servers by default:

1. Go to Settings > Data and Storage > Auto-Download Media
2. Toggle off

Regularly delete messages and chat history

Deleting old chats limits exposure.

1. Long-press a chat
2. Clear History or Delete Chat to remove stored messages from both ends

Use a private browser for Telegram Web

If you access Telegram from a browser, choose privacy-designed browsers like Brave or Tor Browser to reduce tracking.

Use a temporary or anonymous phone number

Instead of linking your real number, use temporary or privacy-focused phone services to sign up with more anonymity. Pair Telegram with NymVPN for full metadata protection

Using NymVPN connects you to a decentralized Noise Generating Mixnet that hides your internet traffic patterns and IP address — protecting you from ISPs, surveillance, and data brokers.

How does Telegram compare to other messengers?

While Telegram offers flexibility and convenience, apps like Signal provide stronger privacy by default. Signal uses full end-to-end encryption, doesn’t store metadata, and is fully open-source.

But even Signal doesn’t fully protect your network metadata. That’s where pairing it — or Telegram — with a privacy-enhancing tool like NymVPN is your ultimate security.

Nym’s verdict? Is Telegram worth the risks?

Telegram is a fast and versatile messaging app, but it’s not built for privacy. The lack of default end-to-end encryption, partially closed-source code, and metadata exposure can leave users vulnerable.

If you're going to use Telegram, do so wisely. Always enable Secret Chats for sensitive messages and layer in additional protections like NymVPN to shield your traffic from surveillance and tracking.