Telegram vs. WhatsApp: The Never-Ending Battle
In this massive app market, there is always a leader. For instance, the leader in the shopping category is Amazon. However, No app can lead a whole category for a long time; competitors emerge, and fierce competition starts as a result. Now, Amazon has multiple competitors like Alibaba and eBay. When it comes to the messaging and communication category, the competition is more intense. But there is one competition that all users are well aware of and actually quite enjoy. This ultimate battle is between two of the most popular messaging apps: Telegram vs. WhatsApp. Learn more about this powerful battle, how it began, and the key differences between the two apps in this article!
The History of WhatsApp
It all started as great things do: a sunny day, two best friends, and in this case, work friends as well, thinking about creating big, magnificent projects. In 2009, Brian Acton and Jan Koum had just resigned from working at Yahoo, the then-grandly renowned company. You’d think that they actually started to work immediately, but you are wrong. The duo started to travel the world. On their long journey, they started to think about what they would do next and how they would earn money. It was then that they thought about establishing a start-up where they could start developing something that was 100% theirs. After many attempts, failures, and even getting rejected from working at the then-new Facebook, the idea of WhatsApp began to form.
The First Seed
The idea began when the iPhone was a brand-new creation and one of the founders purchased it. If you don’t know this, Apple was one of the first companies to include a store for users to download apps. Developers could then create apps and publish them for people to download. The initial function of WhatsApp didn’t have anything to do with messaging. It was to allow users to share statues that would appear on their friends’ phones. What’s up was the phrase behind the name of the new app, as the app aimed to allow users to share what’s up with them. literally.
A New Messenger Is in Town
To everyone’s surprise, the application was a total hit. However, it was not used as a way to share statues, but as a way to communicate. As users found it convenient, they started talking with each other with these statues. I mean, it is easy and has real-time notifications, what could be better?
This was their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that changed their life forever. The duo along with their team started working on the concept of an app where people can communicate instantly and this is how WhatsApp was made.
The Emergence and Start of Telegram
This is a story that began with success that turned into failure and another MAJOR success. It all started in 2006, when Pavel Durov, a fresh graduate from St. Petersburg University, had an idea for a local social media platform. The platform lived up to his expectations and gained popularity, especially among college students. However, Pavel wanted to execute the platform on a much broader scope. He then went to his brother where they established a new company together.
The platform VKontakte, or In Touch in Russian continued to grow day by day and year by year. It had everything that users would need. File sharing, messaging, and everything. Some may still describe to be an all-in-one app as it has features similar to YouTube, Spotify, and Facebook.
It wasn’t until 2010 that problems started to emerge.
The Fall of VKontakte
Both Pavel and his brother Nikolai ran into some problems, as the platform was used for protesting, which left them in the right spot with many organizations and institutions. This is when the Durov brothers decided it was time to bring it to an end. They sold their company and left Russia in hopes of finding an opportunity to start again.
When We Fall, We Rise Again
After some time abroad and many ideas, in 2013, Pavel came up with a sound idea. A messaging application that is much different than the many available on the market. His aim was to create a messaging app that is fast, convenient, and totally secure. Without wasting any second, the two brothers started to work on the app, with Nikolai creating the security protocol, MTProto, which is one of the most powerful protocols ever. The app was instantly favored by millions and is now one of the most secure and commonly used messaging apps.
How Did the Intense Rivalry Between WhatsApp and Telegram Begin?
How did the whole Telegram vs. WhatsApp situation begin? The rivalry literally began the moment that Telegram was made. For years, WhatsApp took over the whole app category and market as the best messaging app. Of course, many apps were created over the years. However, none of them was able to keep up with the functions and features of WhatsApp and couldn’t win the competition with the multi-million dollar company. What Telegram and Pavel Durov did, very smartly, was that they started to play on the idea of features. They expanded their horizons with Telegram with features like supergroups and secret chats. Telegram had these unique selling points that WhatsApp lacked at the time. Since then, it has been nothing but very fierce and intense competition between the two apps, each trying to claim the top spot.
The Main Difference Between the Two Apps: Key Aspects Where WhatsApp and Telegram Contradicts
While it may not be very transparent for users, both apps have significant differences which serve pros for one and cons for the other. As a user, you might think that in the end, both are messaging apps, what is so special? Well, buckle up, and let us explore together.
Privacy Matters: Encryption and User Data Handling
The first and most significant key difference is privacy. Telegram was developed on the foundations of creating a super and private user experience. It had end-to-end encryption from the very first begin and the unique feature of self-destructive chats. The founder’s first aim was to allow users to communicate without ever getting their data breached. This has both a positive side and a negative side. The positive side is that users were really secure and safe. The negative side is that some people misuse the maximized security in destructive matters such as criminal acts and piracy.
On the other hand, WhatsApp didn’t have this perk at first. However, a couple of years ago it started implementing end-to-end encryption, where no one but the two engaging in the chat can see the context. WhatsApp users were over the moon for such a new feature and very satisfied. However, this didn’t last long. The acquisition of Meta over WhatsApp resulted in millions of users abandoning the app. This is due to the renowned Facebook-Cambridge data privacy scandal in 2010.
Feature Face-Off: Messaging Capabilities and Beyond
Coming next is the huge battle of features, which is common among any application. At first, WhatsApp didn’t have any, just the messaging feature, personal profiles, and statutes. That was it.
When Telegram arrived it had much more. With features like super groups that could have more than 10,000 users, unlike the 200-500 cap at WhatsApp. The channels were also a major hit, as they acted as personalized feeds for users. And while WhatsApp didn’t have it until this year, Telegram had it from the very start. We also can’t seem to forget the story status that WhatsApp introduced a couple of years ago, which matched Instagram’s. The update was a huge success as it gave users a fun and engaging way to express what is on their minds with all contacts.
Business on the Line: Enterprises and Messaging Apps
We can give WhatsApp major credit in this category of the Telegram vs. WhatsApp comparison. Over the years, WhatsApp realized the importance of the application for not only individuals but for businesses as well. This is when they released WhatsApp Business with a new broad range of features that allow people to run businesses. The new platform allowed businesses to establish business profiles, take and manage orders, and automate responses by integrating chatbots.
While telegram doesn't have the magic of allowing people to run a business. some actually accomplished that through it anyways. This is through the channels feature where businesses can communicate, respond to, and update their customer on everything.
Multimedia Sharing and Storage: The Visual Experience
Communication is much better with sending over media like videos pictures, voice notes, etc. As both applications could o this perfectly, the key difference between Telegram vs WhatsApp was with limited file size. WhatsApp had a major problem from the very start, which is the very limited file size. Users could only send over 10 pictures at a time, all compressed which messed up with the quality, and videos had to be capped at over 16MB which finally increased to 2GB just a year ago.
On the other hand, Telegram has had a broad limit since its release. Users can send files over 1.5 GB, which increased in a recent update to 2GB. what makes Telegram even more special and favored by users is the quality of the media sent is still the same, as they are not compressed in progress thus still maintaining high quality.
In Summary
There is no doubt that both apps are exceptional, each having powerful strengths and also some downfalls. Users who appreciate privacy over everything are into Telegram more, sure of the amazing and maximized level of security it offers. While people who appreciate more fun and engaging features like stories certainly favor WhatsApp. However, it is not for very long until both would possess the same features. With WhatsApp’s new channels feature and Telegram novel stories feature. Although there are many secure and fun messaging apps on the market like the nandbox Messenger. The ultimate battle will always be Telegram vs Whatsapp