The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been a driving force in markets for the past few weeks. What distinguishes the app from competitors is its use of what's known as channels: Public or private feeds of photos and videos that can be set up by one person or an organization. The channels have become popular with on-the-ground journalists, aid workers and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who broadcasts on a Telegram channel. The channels can be followed by an unlimited number of people. Unlike Facebook, Twitter and other popular social networks, there is no advertising on Telegram and the flow of information is not driven by an algorithm. The picture was mixed overseas. Hong Kong鈥檚 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 Frankfurt鈥檚 DAX surged 1.4%. If you initiate a Secret Chat, however, then these communications are end-to-end encrypted and are tied to the device you are using. That means it鈥檚 less convenient to access them across multiple platforms, but you are at far less risk of snooping. Back in the day, Secret Chats received some praise from the EFF, but the fact that its standard system isn鈥檛 as secure earned it some criticism. If you鈥檙e looking for something that is considered more reliable by privacy advocates, then Signal is the EFF鈥檚 preferred platform, although that too is not without some caveats. "Russians are really disconnected from the reality of what happening to their country," Andrey said. "So Telegram has become essential for understanding what's going on to the Russian-speaking world."
from tw
