To prevent having their phone hacked, Telegram's founder advised users to use "any messaging app" instead of WhatsApp. Pavel Durov referred to a security flaw that WhatsApp found last week which made it possible for a hacker to hijack a person's phone by delivering a corrupt video to their number, Independent reported.
He wrote in Telegram that "Hackers can have complete access (!) to everything on the phones of WhatsApp subscribers." Durov further stated, "Every year, we learn about a new WhatsApp bug that hinders everything on their users' smartphones... No matter how wealthy you are, if WhatsApp is installed on your phone, all of your data from every programme is accessible on it.”
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The self-imposed exiled Russian tech magnate claimed that the security holes are "laid loopholes" that permit governments, law enforcement, and hackers to get around encryption and other security safeguards. Durov has previously asserted that unless significant modifications are made to the way it operates, "WhatsApp will never be secure."
With over 700 million active users and a continuous increase of almost 2 million users every day, Telegram, which is renowned for putting privacy first, is a leading tech giant. Of WhatsApp's estimated 2 billion users worldwide, it still represents a very small portion. It is the most widely used messaging app in the world, surpassing Facebook Messenger and China's WeChat, both of which are controlled by Meta, like WhatsApp.
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"I'm not pressuring anyone in this room to use Telegram... There is no need for further promotion of Telegram", according to Durov. “You can use any messaging programme you choose, but avoid using WhatsApp because it has been used as a spy tool for 13 years”. Independent contacted WhatsApp for a response.
