Signal and Telegram are usually named together as “the private messengers,” but they don’t protect the same things. Signal end-to-end encrypts everything by default. Telegram end-to-end encrypts only the secret chats you start yourself and keeps the rest in its cloud. This guide puts the two side by side, using what each company says in its own documentation.
The short answer
If you’re asking which app keeps the company itself from reading your messages, it’s Signal. Every Signal chat, group chat and call is end-to-end encrypted without you switching anything on.
On Telegram, ordinary chats and all group chats are what Telegram calls Cloud Chats. They’re encrypted between your device and Telegram’s servers and stored in Telegram’s cloud, which is why they show up on every device you log in from. Only secret chats, which are one-to-one and have to be started by hand, are end-to-end encrypted.
That doesn’t make Telegram the wrong choice. It’s built for a different job: very large groups, public channels and bots. Signal is built for conversations that should stay between the people in them.
Side by side
| Signal | Telegram | Krypton Ø | |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-to-one chats end-to-end encrypted | Yes, by default | Only in secret chats you start yourself | Yes, by default |
| Group chats end-to-end encrypted | Yes, by default | No | Yes, by default |
| Calls end-to-end encrypted | Yes | Yes | Yes (voice calls, with KryptonØ+) |
| Phone number to sign up | Yes | Yes | No |
| Who sees your number | Hidden by default from people who don’t already have it | Only people you’ve saved as contacts, by default | There’s no number |
| Beyond chats | Stories that disappear after 24 hours | Public channels and groups, not end-to-end encrypted | An encrypted feed of posts for your Fam |
| Largest group | 1,000 | 200,000 | 1,030 (with KryptonØ+) |
| Who can join | Anyone | Anyone | Only through a member who knows you |
Krypton Ø (Krypton zero) is our own app, so read that column knowing who wrote it. It’s in the table because people comparing these two are often looking for something neither of them does.
What Signal protects, and what it knows
Everything in a conversation is end-to-end encrypted. Messages, group chats, voice calls and video calls all use the open source Signal Protocol, and there’s no unencrypted mode to fall back to. In Signal’s words, “We can’t read your messages or listen to your calls, and no one else can either.”
It keeps very little about you. Signal publishes the legal requests it receives. It says the only information it can provide is the date and time an account was created and the date it last connected to the service.
It still needs your phone number. You can’t sign up without one. Since February 2024, though, your number is hidden by default from anyone who doesn’t already have it saved, you can create a username to give out instead, and you can decide who’s allowed to find you by number.
It’s a nonprofit. Signal is run by an independent nonprofit, with no ads and no trackers in the app.
It keeps hardening the protocol. In October 2025 Signal announced the Sparse Post Quantum Ratchet, a further layer of protection against future quantum computers on top of its existing design.
What Signal doesn’t try to be is a place for audiences. Groups hold up to 1,000 people, Stories disappear after 24 hours, and there are no public channels.
What Telegram protects, and what it knows
Ordinary chats live in Telegram’s cloud. Telegram calls its private and group chats Cloud Chats. They use server-client encryption and are stored encrypted in the Telegram Cloud, with the keys kept by Telegram in data centers under other jurisdictions. That’s what makes Telegram convenient: your whole history is there on any device. It also means these chats aren’t end-to-end encrypted. The protection rests on Telegram’s own safeguards, not on keys that only you and the other person hold.
Secret chats are end-to-end encrypted, with limits. A secret chat is one-to-one only, you start it by hand from the other person’s profile, and it exists only on the two devices that started it. Telegram says it doesn’t store secret chats on its servers, so they don’t appear on your other devices.
Groups and channels are built for scale. A Telegram group can hold up to 200,000 members. Group chats and channels aren’t end-to-end encrypted, and anything posted in a public one can be seen by anyone.
Calls are end-to-end encrypted. That covers one-to-one voice and video calls, and since 2025 the newer group calls for up to 200 people.
It needs a phone number too. A Telegram account has to be connected to a mobile number. By default the number is visible only to people you’ve saved as contacts, and a username lets others reach you without it. Since December 2022 you can also sign up with an anonymous number bought on the Fragment platform instead of a SIM card.
It keeps more about you. If you allow it, Telegram syncs your contacts and stores their numbers and names. Its privacy policy says it may keep metadata such as your IP address, devices and username history for up to 12 months, and that when it receives a valid order from judicial authorities confirming that a user is a suspect in a criminal case, it may disclose that user’s IP address and phone number. Telegram also states that it has disclosed 0 bytes of user messages to third parties, including governments.
Only the apps are open source. Telegram publishes the code for its apps and its API, but not for its servers.
Which one should you use?
- For private conversations with people you know, use Signal. There’s nothing to switch on and nothing to remember.
- For big communities, announcements and public channels, use Telegram. That’s what it’s designed for. Treat it as a public square, not a sealed room.
- If you keep private chats on Telegram, start a secret chat. Remember that it stays on that one device, and that there’s no secret chat for groups.
Where Krypton Ø fits, honestly
Signal and Telegram are both messengers that anyone with a phone number can join. Krypton Ø is a different kind of app: an invite-only, end-to-end encrypted social network for adults who want to share posts, photos and chats only with people they actually know. Posts, replies, photos, profiles, chats and calls are encrypted by default, there’s no phone number or email at sign-up, and the server doesn’t know who your Fam are. Fam is what Krypton Ø calls the people you’re connected with.
It isn’t a replacement for either app. Krypton Ø is new and small, Signal is older and far more widely used and reviewed, and nothing here has Telegram’s reach. It’s on Google Play for Android now with the iPhone app in App Store review, it’s for adults only (18 and over), and you can only join through someone who’s already a member. It makes sense when what you want is a closed place for the people you know, not a bigger audience. If you run a Telegram group for updates or signals, KryptonØ+ also has send-only bots that work in the style of the Telegram Bot API. See KryptonØ+.
How the encryption works is in How can a social network work if its server can’t read your posts?.
FAQ
Is Telegram end-to-end encrypted?
Only in secret chats and calls. Ordinary chats and all group chats are Cloud Chats, which are encrypted between your device and Telegram’s servers and stored in Telegram’s cloud. Secret chats are one-to-one, have to be started by hand, and exist only on the two devices that started them.
Is Signal safer than Telegram?
For keeping the content of your messages private, yes. Signal end-to-end encrypts every chat, group chat and call by default, and says the only account information it can hand over is when the account was created and when it last connected. Telegram’s ordinary chats use server-client encryption, so they rely on Telegram’s own safeguards.
Do Signal and Telegram need a phone number?
Both ask for one at sign-up. Signal hides your number by default and lets you share a username instead. Telegram shows your number only to your contacts by default, and also accepts an anonymous number bought on the Fragment platform.
Are Telegram group chats encrypted?
They’re encrypted in transit and in storage, but not end to end, and Telegram has no secret chats for groups. Its newer group calls, for up to 200 people, are end-to-end encrypted.
Is there an encrypted app that doesn’t need a phone number?
Yes. Threema and Session are messengers that work without one, and Krypton Ø is an invite-only social network that asks for no phone number or email. They’re compared in Which messaging apps work without a phone number?.