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Signal vs WhatsApp vs Telegram in 2026: Encryption, Phone Numbers, Ads and Who Owns Your Data

By The Nadeemi team · Checked on

Part of: Is it encrypted? The app-by-app guide

Checked against Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram's own pages and dated reporting, 6 November 2026.

Every few months something sends people looking for "the safe one". A privacy policy update, an ad in the Status tab, a headline about a CEO in court, a government group chat that went wrong. And every time, the same three names come up: Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram.

They are often lumped together as "encrypted messengers", but they make very different promises. One encrypts everything by default and is run by a nonprofit. One encrypts your chats by default and is run by the world's largest advertising company. One is built around cloud chats that the company can read, with encryption as an option you have to choose. Here is the side-by-side, then the detail.

Short answer: for private conversations, Signal keeps the least about you and encrypts everything by default, but needs a phone number. WhatsApp encrypts personal chats, groups and calls by default too, but is owned by Meta, collects more metadata, and now shows ads in the Updates tab. Telegram is the odd one out: normal chats and all groups are not end-to-end encrypted; only one-to-one Secret Chats and calls are. Telegram is best thought of as a broadcast and community app, not a private messenger.

Signal vs WhatsApp vs Telegram: the comparison table

SignalWhatsAppTelegram
One-to-one chats E2EE by defaultYesYesNo (Secret Chats are opt-in)
Group chats E2EEYesYesNo
Calls E2EEYesYesYes (incl. group calls up to 200)
Encryption protocolSignal ProtocolSignal ProtocolMTProto
Cloud backup E2EEOpt-in Secure Backups, E2EE (since Sept 2025)Only if you switch on E2EE backupCloud chats stored by Telegram
Phone number to sign upYes (username hides it)YesYes (username hides it)
AdsNoneIn the Updates tab (Status, promoted channels)Sponsored messages in public channels
Who runs itSignal, an independent nonprofitMetaTelegram
Big groupsUp to 1,000 membersLarge groups and CommunitiesUp to 200,000 members

Which is more secure, Signal or WhatsApp?

For message content, they are close: both use the Signal Protocol and encrypt personal chats, groups and calls by default. The difference is everything around the content. Signal is a nonprofit with no ads and collects very little metadata. WhatsApp is owned by Meta, collects account, device and usage data, and is part of Meta's wider business.

WhatsApp's own privacy policy describes collecting account information such as your phone number, usage and log information, and device and connection information, including IP address (WhatsApp privacy policy). Signal describes itself as "an independent nonprofit" with "no ads, no affiliate marketers, and no creepy tracking" (signal.org).

Backups are the other gap. A WhatsApp backup on Google Drive or iCloud is outside end-to-end encryption unless you turn on end-to-end encrypted backup, available since 2021 (Meta Engineering, 10 Sept 2021). Our guide Who can see my WhatsApp messages? walks through it.

Is Telegram more secure than WhatsApp?

Not for private chats. WhatsApp encrypts personal chats and groups end to end by default; Telegram does not. Telegram's normal chats and every group are cloud chats, encrypted between you and Telegram's servers but readable by Telegram. Only one-to-one Secret Chats, which you must start on purpose on one device, are end-to-end encrypted.

Telegram's FAQ explains the split between cloud chats and Secret Chats, and that group calls of up to 200 people are end-to-end encrypted (Telegram FAQ). In September 2024 Telegram also updated its policy to say it would share users' IP addresses and phone numbers in response to valid legal requests (Security Affairs, 24 Sept 2024). Telegram's strengths are elsewhere: huge groups, channels, bots and sync across devices. Full detail: Is Telegram encrypted?

Do Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram need my phone number?

All three require one to sign up. Signal and Telegram let you hide it. Since February 2024 Signal lets you set a username and choose that nobody can find you by your number, though "you will still need a phone number to sign up" (Signal, 20 Feb 2024). Telegram also has usernames and number-visibility settings.

That matters more than it sounds. A phone number is tied to your identity, your SIM and often your national ID. Giving it to an app means the app, and anyone you chat with, holds a stable identifier for you.

Which one shows ads?

Signal shows none. WhatsApp began showing ads in the Updates tab (Status and promoted channels) in June 2025, not inside chats (MacRumors, 17 June 2025), and rolled Status ads out globally in February 2026 (Storyboard18, 27 Feb 2026). Telegram shows sponsored messages in public broadcast channels and says it doesn't use private chats or contacts for targeting (Telegram Ads).

Was Signal hacked in the 2025 government group chat story?

No. In March 2025 a US national security adviser added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief to a Signal group about military strikes by mistake, and the editor published the chat (Fortune, 25 Mar 2025). The encryption worked as designed. The failure was who was added to the group, which is the one thing no encryption can fix.

So which should I use?

None of the three is a social network. There is no feed, no profile page for your life, no place for a family album that isn't a chat thread. That gap is why we are building Nadeemi.

Where Nadeemi fits

Nadeemi is a social network in Arabic and English: posts, follows, groups, private Circles and messages. It needs no phone number (an email and a password), shows no ads and has no AI features. Private messages, group chats and Circles are encrypted on your device with MLS, but because no independent audit has been published, we label them "end-to-end encryption coming". Public posts are encrypted in transit and at rest, and our servers can read them. Our honest side-by-side is Nadeemi vs WhatsApp, Telegram and X.

FAQ

Is Signal safer than WhatsApp? Both encrypt chats, groups and calls by default with the Signal Protocol. Signal collects far less metadata, has no ads and is a nonprofit, so for privacy it is the stronger choice.

Is Telegram end-to-end encrypted like WhatsApp? No. Telegram's normal chats and groups are cloud chats Telegram can read. Only one-to-one Secret Chats and calls are end-to-end encrypted.

Which messenger does not need a phone number? Signal, WhatsApp and Telegram all need one to sign up, although Signal and Telegram let you hide it behind a username. Nadeemi needs only an email and a password.

Does WhatsApp have ads now? Yes, in the Updates tab (Status and promoted channels) since 2025, globally since February 2026. Meta says personal chats are not used to target them.

Which is best for big groups? Telegram allows up to 200,000 members, but those groups are not end-to-end encrypted. Signal groups hold up to 1,000 members and are encrypted.

Is Nadeemi a replacement for Signal? Not for high-risk use. Nadeemi is a social network with encrypted private chats, in beta and not yet audited. Signal is a mature, audited messenger.

Sources (checked 6 November 2026)

Names of other apps are trademarks of their owners, used only for comparison. Nadeemi is not affiliated with any of them.

Drafted with AI help and checked by a person on the date above.

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