Telegram

Telegram is a messaging program used on phones and computers. With it, people send text, images, videos, voice messages and large files. So far this sounds like WhatsApp or Signal, and in many respects that is true. The big difference lies in the so-called channels: a single sender can broadcast there to hundreds of thousands or millions of recipients who can only read along. Telegram is therefore half private messenger and half public medium. The service was founded in 2013 by the Russian brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov; the company is now based in Dubai.

Why Telegram makes the news

According to its own figures, Telegram has around one billion active users per month. That makes it one of the largest communication services in the world. Unlike classic messengers, entire streams of news emerge there. Political groups, war correspondents, crypto traders and conspiracy theorists spread their content via channels. In countries with state censorship, Telegram is often one of the last open sources of information.

This very openness is also the main problem. Telegram deletes content far more reluctantly than Facebook or YouTube. Drugs, stolen data and disinformation are demonstrably spread via its channels as well. In 2024, company boss Pavel Durov was temporarily arrested in France after investigators accused the service of insufficient cooperation regarding criminal offenses. Since then, Telegram has announced that it will hand over user data to authorities more often.

For finance and tech readers, Telegram is also interesting as a business model. The service sells subscriptions, displays ads in large channels, and is closely linked to the cryptocurrency Toncoin. Digital goods can be purchased via a payment system built into the app. Telegram is thus less a pure chat program and more a platform with its own economy.

Channels, groups and bots

Technically, Telegram consists of three building blocks. A normal chat runs between two people. A group can bring together up to 200,000 members, all of whom are allowed to post. A channel, by contrast, has an unlimited number of subscribers, but only the operators can send messages. Channels therefore function more like a newsletter than like a conversation.

One detail is often misunderstood: Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default. End-to-end encryption means that only the sender and recipient can read the content, not the provider itself. At Telegram, this only applies to the specially started “secret chats.” Normal messages are stored encrypted on the company’s servers, but the company itself can technically access them. Signal and WhatsApp, by contrast, always encrypt end-to-end.

Important for AI topics is the third ingredient: bots. A bot is a small program with its own Telegram account that automatically replies to messages. Telegram provides an open programming interface for this purpose, i.e. a set of defined commands that allow external software to control the service. Anyone who connects a language model to such a bot has their own chat assistant inside the messenger within a few hours. This barrier is lower than on almost any other platform.

Telegram in everyday life and in products

In everyday life, many people first encounter Telegram as a group chat for their class or sports club. After that, channels are often added: news sites, gaming sites, music recommendations. Because channels can be read in the browser without logging in, their posts are also quoted outside the app. Screenshots from Telegram channels therefore regularly appear in newspapers and TV reports.

In the tech industry, Telegram is a common place for product testing. Many small AI providers release their first version as a bot before building their own app. Trading platforms for cryptocurrencies also work with bots that report prices or execute purchases. This is exactly where fraud attempts lurk: fake bots ask for passwords or access keys. One simple rule helps: a reputable service never asks for a recovery phrase in chat.

When Telegram appears in business news, it is usually about one of three things. First, regulation, for example European requirements for removing illegal content. Second, money, for example bonds, advertising revenue or a possible stock market listing. Third, the connection to the blockchain world around Toncoin. Anyone wanting to classify the term should therefore always check whether the discussion is about the messenger, the company, or the crypto ecosystem.