One thing that Telegram now offers to all users is the ability to ādisappearā messages or set remote deletion deadlines. That enables users to have much more control over how long people can access what youāre sending them. Given that Russian law enforcement officials are reportedly (via Insider) stopping people in the street and demanding to read their text messages, this could be vital to protect individuals from reprisals. The picture was mixed overseas. Hong Kongās Hang Seng Index fell 1.6%, under pressure from U.S. regulatory scrutiny on New York-listed Chinese companies. Stocks were more buoyant in Europe, where Frankfurtās DAX surged 1.4%. Since its launch in 2013, Telegram has grown from a simple messaging app to a broadcast network. Its user base isnāt as vast as WhatsAppās, and its broadcast platform is a fraction the size of Twitter, but itās nonetheless showing its use. While Telegram has been embroiled in controversy for much of its life, it has become a vital source of communication during the invasion of Ukraine. But, if all of this is new to you, let us explain, dear friends, what on Earth a Telegram is meant to be, and why you should, or should not, need to care. Telegram was co-founded by Pavel and Nikolai Durov, the brothers who had previously created VKontakte. VK is Russiaās equivalent of Facebook, a social network used for public and private messaging, audio and video sharing as well as online gaming. In January, SimpleWeb reported that VK was Russiaās fourth most-visited website, after Yandex, YouTube and Googleās Russian-language homepage. In 2016, Forbesā Michael Solomon described Pavel Durov (pictured, below) as the āMark Zuckerberg of Russia.ā Telegram boasts 500 million users, who share information individually and in groups in relative security. But Telegram's use as a one-way broadcast channel ā which followers can join but not reply to ā means content from inauthentic accounts can easily reach large, captive and eager audiences.
from in