But because group chats and the channel features are not end-to-end encrypted, Galperin said user privacy is potentially under threat. "He has kind of an old-school cyber-libertarian world view where technology is there to set you free," Maréchal said. Despite Telegram's origins, its approach to users' security has privacy advocates worried. Individual messages can be fully encrypted. But the user has to turn on that function. It's not automatic, as it is on Signal and WhatsApp. Telegram, which does little policing of its content, has also became a hub for Russian propaganda and misinformation. Many pro-Kremlin channels have become popular, alongside accounts of journalists and other independent observers.
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