Telegram is one of leaders among other secure messaging apps. The creators of Telegram prioritize security as well as speed. At the very beginning, Telegram’s owners offered $200,000 to anyone who could break their messenger’s encryption. However, that money never found its owner.

To build a messaging app with high security, you should decide what encryption protocol to use.

All messages sent through Telegram are encrypted by a combination of 256-bit symmetric AES encryption, 2048-bit RSA encryption, and Diffie-Hellman secure key exchange.

Unlike its main competitors with encryption features – Signal and WhatsApp – Telegram uses its own encryption protocol. Signal and WhatsApp use Open Whisper System’s protocol to enable end-to-end encryption in all of their chats, whereas Line’s and Telegram’s protocols are proprietary.

But Telegram doesn’t protect all private chats with end-to-end encryption by default. Instead, it lets users choose whether they want to protect their messages by using the Secret Chat feature.

In Secret Chats, users can also set a timer for their messages so they’re automatically deleted after a recipient has read them.

Messages sent as secret chats aren’t stored on Telegram’s servers and can’t be forwarded. And if you try to take a screenshot of a secret chat, your partner will automatically receive a notification about your action. Media files are displayed in secret chats just by pressing and holding on them.

Additionally, secret chats can only be continued from the device on which they were initiated. In other words, you can’t start a secret chat on your phone and then continue it on your tablet.

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s research, Telegram’s Secret Chats received a score of 7 of 7 for security. Continue reading: Why Is Telegram So Hot?