Pavel Durov of Telegram: Why He Thinks WhatsApp Falls Short
Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, has been one of the most vocal critics of WhatsApp, Facebook's (now Meta's) messaging platform. His criticisms revolve around privacy, security, and corporate control. Here's a breakdown of his key arguments and concerns:

1. Weak Encryption and Security Vulnerabilities
🔐 Durov's Claim:
WhatsApp has a history of security flaws that have been exploited by hackers, often through zero-day vulnerabilities.

📌 Examples:
In 2019, spyware from NSO Group exploited a WhatsApp flaw to infect phones with just a missed call.

Durov argues these vulnerabilities are "backdoors" that can be used by governments or malicious actors.

"Every year, we learn about a new WhatsApp bug that allows attackers to access everything on your phone."

2. Lack of Transparency
🧩 Durov's Concern:
WhatsApp's source code is not open-source, meaning the public can't audit it to confirm what it does behind the scenes.

⚠️ Why It Matters:
Closed-source apps can hide vulnerabilities, data collection practices, or intentional backdoors. Telegram, while not fully open-source either, provides its client-side code for review and offers a custom-built protocol.

3. Facebook Ownership and Data Collection
🏢 Corporate Control:
Since WhatsApp is owned by Meta (formerly Facebook), Durov believes it's inherently tied to a company known for surveillance capitalism and data monetization.

📉 Trust Issues:
Durov points out Meta's privacy scandals (like Cambridge Analytica) as reasons not to trust WhatsApp with personal data.

4. Forced Decryption and Government Access
🇺🇸 🕵��♂️ Durov's Assertion:
He suggests that WhatsApp may cooperate with government agencies, particularly in the U.S., offering them access to user data.

He has implied that WhatsApp's encryption is more PR than reality, especially when it comes to metadata and backup data stored on cloud services.

5. Telegram's Positioning
Durov promotes Telegram as a secure, fast, and privacy-respecting alternative to WhatsApp:

No data sold to advertisers.

Optional end-to-end encryption via Secret Chats.

Massive group and channel capabilities.

Multi-device support and cloud-based sync.

Criticism of Telegram's Own Security
It's worth noting that security experts have also criticized Telegram for:

Using a homegrown encryption protocol (MTProto) instead of proven ones like Signal Protocol.

Not offering end-to-end encryption by default for all chats.

However, Durov argues this balance enables Telegram to deliver speed and features that other platforms can't.

Final Thought from Durov
"If you're not using Telegram yet, it's time to delete WhatsApp. Not just for you, but for your friends' privacy as well."