Telegram is looking for a data center engineer

This vacancy appeared on the official website of the messenger. It is worth noting that it was in the European data center that several failures occurred in a couple of months, as a result of which there were problems with access to the messenger throughout Eurasia. The European segment remains the most problematic among the rest of Telegram's infrastructure.

Responsibilities: creation, development, maintenance and troubleshooting of European Telegram infrastructure and network equipment, work with suppliers and representatives of data centers, participation in operational procedures, effective work with field projects.

Preferences: years of experience in troubleshooting and operating data centers, high knowledge of cabling and more, multitasking, dedication, ability to work in the EU without sponsorship.

Telegram Limits - InFoTel

Just like any other service, Telegram uses limits to ensure that users follow Fair Usage Policy and to keep the service running. This table lists the currently known Telegram limits and is being kept up to date.

Accounts

Username (e.g. @cameraman) - 5 to 32 characters

Bio - up to 70 characters

First Name length - from 1 to 64 characters

Last Name length - from 0 to 64 characters

Self-destruction period if no activity - 1, 3, 6 and 12 months (6 by default)

Spam ban - 3 days or more

Channels and supergroups number  (you can be member of ) - up to 500 (including ones you own)

Saved GIFs number - up to 200

Video-avatar -  duration up to 10 seconds

Group and channel creation - up to 50 in a day

Accounts number (official clients) - up to 3

Chats and groups

Participants (limit can be raised) - up to 200,000
Number of admins in groups - up to 50

Number of bots in groups - up to 20
Pinned chats in main list - up to 5 chats or channels + 5 secret chats
Group name and description - up to 255 characters
Message editing - in 48 hours after sending; unlimited in Saved and for admins with pinning rights
Photo and video self-destruction - 1 to 60 seconds
Recent actions (subscriptions, posts, etc.) - last two days
Mentions number in a single message - up to 50, else notifications won't be sent
Visible messages number in group - 1,000,000 last messages
Number of participants to see statistics - at least 500
Username change reservation (time before username will be available for everyone, not just the original owner) - about 15-30 minutes

Channels

Public usernames number for a single account - up to 10 (including groups)
Length of @username - 5 to 32 characters
Channel name and description - up to 255 characters
Posts editing - unlimited
Channel subscribers number - unlimited
Visible subscribers for channel admin - 200 people
Channel deletion - channels with more than 1K subscribers can be deleted only with Telegram support
Private channel access without subscription - up to 5 minutes once a day
Inviting users - up to 200 people
Number of subscribers to see statistics - at least 500
Username change reservation (time before username will be available for everyone, not just the original owner) - about 15-30 minutes

Messages

One message length - up to 4,096 characters
Media captions - up to 1,024 characters
File size limit - up to 2.0 GB
Video message duration - up to 1 minute
Images and videos in single message (album) - up to 10 items
Scheduled messages number - up to 100 items
Schedule range - up to 365 days

Folders

Folders amount - up to 10 folders
Pinned chats in a folder - up to 100 chats

People Nearby

Visibility range - about 12 kilometers
Visible users amount - up to 100 people
Visible geochats number - up to 10 closest

Bots

Bots number (created by @BotFather) - up to 20 items
Length of @username for bots - 5 to 32 characters
Bot info length (/setabouttext) - up to 120 characters
Bot description length - up to 512 characters
File upload limit (BotAPI) - up to 50 MB
File download limit (BotAPI) - up to 20 MB
Message forwarding - up to 2,000 per hour
Keyboard buttons number - up to 100 entities
Message formatting data - up to 10 KB
Messages frequency (can be raised by support) - up to 30 messages per second; 20 per minute for public chats and channels

Search

Global search results - up to 10 items; up to 3 for Android
Minimal query length for global search - at least 4 characters

Stickers

Added packs number - up to 200 items
Favorite stickers number - up to 5 items
Stickers in a pack number - up to 120 for static, up to 50 for animated
Sticker size - one side equal to 512px, the other side 512px or less; strictly 512x512 for animated
Animation duration - up to 3 seconds
Sticker file size - up to 512 KB for static, up to 64 KB for animated
FPS - either 30 or 60

Telegraph

Accounts number in @telegraph bot - up to 5 items
Article size - up to 64 KiB

Miscellaneous

Video avatar properties - 800x800px, up to 2 MB

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How To Protect Your Telegram Account

Telegram is a well-secured messenger, but not all privacy and security settings are activated by default. For your account to be under maximum protection, look at the following settings:

1. Two-factor authentication

The most important protection for your account. If a password is not set, you can lose your profile by intercepting SMS during authorization, by duplicating a sim card, actions of special services through employees of mobile operators. Two-factor authorization is enabled in the following way: Settings - Confidentiality - Two-step authentication.

After entering the password, you will be prompted to enter an email address through which you can recover the forgotten password.

Maximum protection is provided by a password without specifying an email address. So the possibility of hacking the account will be minimized, but there will be a chance to forget or lose the password, which will lead to the complete loss of the account without the possibility of its recovery, more on this in a separate article .

2. Code password

Settings - Privacy - Passcode

Additional protection for your application is a code for it, similar to the one that is installed on your device itself. You can choose to unlock by fingerprint or Face ID, or just a code, choose to auto-lock after a certain period of time, or manually block the application. Such protection largely duplicates the protection of your mobile device and is often redundant, and may be needed only if you do not set a password to access your phone or computer.

3. Room visibility

In Telegram, as in other messengers, it is possible to import contacts to check whether an account is registered to a specific number, so unscrupulous individuals or organizations can create Telegram user bases. So recently the base of 40 million Telegram users leaked. Whether you are in this database, you can find out in the bot .

It is important to hide your number both for those who found themselves in such databases, and for those who do not want to see themselves in them in the future.

Settings - Privacy - Phone number

The visibility structure of the license plate can be clearly seen in this table.

By default, Telegram has the My contacts item and your number will be visible only to those who had your number and those whose number you have.

By checking the Nobody checkbox, you forbid those who are in your notebook, but do not have your phone number, to see your number, and you also open another menu:

4. Who can find me by number

By choosing the My contacts option , you will hide your profile from unknown people. Having entered you into the phone book, Telegam simply will not show the seeker that your profile is in the messenger. Such a setting can make it difficult to find your contact in Telegram, for those whom you have not added to your notebook, decide for yourself that privacy or openness to new people is more important to you.

5. Prevent displaying avatars and profiles when forwarding messages

You can hide your profile picture from unknown users and prevent them from going to your profile through messages forwarded from you. In addition, you can change your real name to a pseudonym - this is suitable for those who are trying to maintain maximum confidentiality in the messenger.

Settings - Privacy - Photo on avatar

Settings - Privacy - Forwarding Profile

In conclusion, we would like to remind you that there is no perfect protection as long as there is a possibility to hack your phone, mail, or force to unlock your device. Social engineering is the most common hacking method. Protect your devices and do not fall for the tricks of scammers.
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Telegram added support for video calling

2020 highlighted the need for face-to-face communication, and our alpha version of video calls is now available on both Android and iOS. You can start a video call from your contact's profile page, and switch video on or off at any time during voice calls. Like all other video content on Telegram, video calls support picture-in-picture mode, allowing you to scroll through chats and multitask while maintaining eye contact.

All video calls are protected with end-to-end encryption. To confirm your connection, compare the four emoji shown on-screen for you and your chat partner – if they match, your call is 100% secured by time-tested encryption also used in Telegram's Secret Chats and Voice Calls. You can find more details on this page.

Our apps for Android and iOS have reproducible builds, so anyone can verify encryption and confirm that their app uses the exact same open source code that we publish with each update.

Video calls will receive more features and improvements in future versions, as we work toward launching group video calls in the coming months. But for this midyear milestone, you can now enjoy a little one-on-one time with those closest to you, whether they're in the other room or on another continent.

Who Sees My Phone Number on Telegram

In one of the latest updates, the Telegram development team added new items in the "Privacy" settings - Who can see your phone number. Sometimes users see the phone number of people who did not have it before. To avoid unnecessary suspicions about "leaks", let's figure out how phone numbers work in a profile and what can be changed in the new settings.

Since the creation of Telegram, the numbers have worked as follows: if a person is recorded in your contacts, you see his number in Telegram as well. Logical enough.

Less well known was the following point, described in the FAQ. Denis's phone number was recorded in your contacts, but he did not know your number. If you write to Denis, he will see your number. It works the same way as SMS - you will see the number of the person who wrote to you.

In the fall of 2018, this item in the FAQ was changed . From that moment on, you only saw the phone number of your contacts (the principle “like SMS” no longer worked). Perhaps the changes occurred after spammers began to throw their phone into the victim's private chat, hoping that he would keep this contact, thereby giving out his personal number.

In June 2019, there are new privacy settings. As before, if someone's number is in your address book, you see the number in the contact's profile in Telegram. By default, as it was before the fall of 2018, all your contacts (people whose number is in your notebook) receive your phone number.

What do the different options for setting “Who can see my number on Telegram” mean:

1. Everybody. 

An option useful for firms, companies, entrepreneurs, etc. - everyone can see your number in your profile.
2. My contacts. 

(default) Standard behavior until fall 2018 - all your contacts see your number. You can add exceptions for specific people as well as for entire groups. The number is also seen by those who saved it on their own.
3. Nobody. 

since Summer 2019, the behavior of the setting has changed, when you select it, the advanced options for the setting “Who can find me by number in Telegram” are displayed. In exceptions, you can allow the number to be shown to specific people or entire groups.

What do the different options for setting “Who can find me by my number on Telegram” mean:
All. Users who have saved the number to the phone book will see it in Telegram as well.
My contacts. Users who have saved the number in the phone book will see it in Telegram, provided that you have added them to contacts.

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Telegram will add secure group video calls later this year

The group video calling feature on some of the most popular messaging apps has proven to be quite valuable in these trying times. In order to help more users connect using the feature, apps like WhatsApp and Google Duo have released a couple of improvements for the feature in the recent past. For instance, earlier this year Google Duo increased the group size limit to 12 participants and we also learned that the company was working to add invite links for both group video and audio calls. Similarly, Facebook-owned WhatsApp also increased the group size limit to a maximum of 8 participants. But while Duo and WhatsApp are working to improve group video and audio calling, rival messenger Telegram still doesn’t offer a group video calling feature to its users. Thankfully, that’s bound to change soon as Telegram has now announced that group video calling will be added to the platform later this year.

In a recent blog post, the company announced that Telegram will be getting a secure group video calling feature later this year. The post states: “The current global lockdown highlighted the need for a trusted video communication tool. Video calls in 2020 are much like messaging in 2013. There are apps that either secure or usable, but not both. We’d like to fix that, and we will focus on bringing you secure group video calls in 2020.” However, the company hasn’t revealed any information regarding the release timeline for the feature.

Additionally, the blog post reveals that Telegram has now reached 400 million monthly users, up from 300 million at the same time last year. The company claims that at least 1.5 million new users are signing up for Telegram each day, which has helped it become the most downloaded social media application in over 20 countries. On top of that, the company has also released a new update for the messenger which brings upgrades to its Quiz Mode, adds a new sticker directory to help users browse and search stickers, brings a new attachment menu on Android, includes improvements for Telegram for macOS, and adds a new Bullseye animated emoji. For more information on the latest update, you can check the source link below.

Why Using WhatsApp Is Dangerous

A few months ago I wrote about a WhatsApp backdoor that allowed hackers to access all data on any phone running WhatsApp [1]. Facebook, its parent company, claimed at the time that they had no proof the flaw had ever been used by attackers [2]. 

Last week it became clear that this backdoor had been exploited to extract private communications and photos of Jeff Bezos – the richest person on the planet – who unfortunately relied on WhatsApp [3]. Since the attack seemed to originate from a foreign government, it is likely that countless other business and government leaders have been targeted [4].

In my November post, I predicted this would happen [5]. The United Nations now recommends its officials remove WhatsApp from their devices [6], while people close to Donald Trump have been advised to change their phones [7].

Given the gravity of the situation, one would expect Facebook/WhatsApp to apologize and pledge not to plant backdoors in their apps going forward. Instead, they announced that Apple, not WhatsApp, was to blame. Facebook’s vice president claimed that iOS, rather than WhatsApp, had been hacked [8].

If you follow my blog, you know I am not exactly an Apple fanboy [9]. iOS devices have loads of privacy-related issues. But this was not one of them – for two reasons:

1) WhatsApp’s “corrupt video” vulnerability was present not only on iOS, but also on Android and even Windows Phone devices. Meaning, on all mobile devices with WhatsApp installed.

2) This security fault was not present in other messaging apps on iOS. Had Jeff Bezos relied on Telegram instead of WhatsApp, he wouldn't have been blackmailed by people who compromised his communications [10].

Consequently, the issue was not iOS-specific, but WhatsApp specific.

In their marketing, WhatsApp uses the words “end-to-end encryption” as some magic incantation that alone is supposed to automatically make all communications secure [11]. However, this technology is not a silver bullet that can guarantee you absolute privacy by itself.

Telegram rolled out end-to-end encryption for mass communication years before WhatsApp followed suit, and we’ve been mindful not only of the strengths, but also the limitations of this technology. Other aspects of a messaging app can render end-to-end encryption useless. Below are three examples of what can go wrong.

First, there are backups. Users don’t want to lose their chats when they change devices, so they back up the chats in services like iCloud – often without realizing their backups are not encrypted. The fact that Apple was forced by the FBI to abandon encryption plans for iCloud is telling [12]. That’s one of the reasons why Telegram never relies on third-party cloud backups, and Secret Chats are never backed up anywhere.

Second, there are backdoors. Enforcement agencies are not too happy with encryption, forcing app developers to secretly plant vulnerabilities in their apps. I know that because we’ve been approached by some of them – and refused to cooperate. As a result, Telegram is banned in some countries where WhatsApp has no issues with authorities, most suspiciously in Russia and Iran [13].

Backdoors are usually camouflaged as “accidental” security flaws. In the last year alone, 12 such flaws have been found in WhatsApp. Seven of them were critical – like the one that got Jeff Bezos [14]. Some might tell you WhatsApp is still “very secure” despite having 7 backdoors exposed in the last 12 months, but that’s just statistically improbable. Telegram, an application used by hundreds of millions of people including heads of states and large companies, has had no issues of that severity in the last 6 years.

Third, there are flaws in encryption implementation. How can anybody be sure that the encryption WhatsApp claims to use is the one actually implemented in their apps? Their source code is hidden and the apps’ binaries are obfuscated, making them hard to analyze. On the contrary, Telegram apps have been open-source and its encryption fully documented since 2013. Telegram supports verifiable builds for both iOS and Android – meaning anyone can make sure the source code on GitHub and the Telegram app you download are the same thing [15]. No other messaging app is doing that for both mobile operating systems, and one might just start wondering why.

Don’t let yourself be fooled by the tech equivalent of circus magicians who’d like to focus your attention on one isolated aspect all while performing their tricks elsewhere. They want you to think about end-to-end encryption as the only thing you have to look at for privacy. The reality is much more complicated.

Some could say that, as a founder of a rival app, I may be biased when criticizing WhatsApp. Of course I am. Of course I consider Telegram Secret Chats to be significantly more secure than any competing means of communication – why else would I be developing and using Telegram?

However, the statements in this post are based on facts, not personal preference. And, just like the code of the Telegram apps, these facts are verifiable and further supported by the third-party sources below. When it comes to security, nobody should take anybody’s word for granted.
Sources

[1] Techspot: Hackers can use a WhatsApp flaw in the way it handles video to take control of your phone – November 19, 2019

[2] ZDNet: Attackers using WhatsApp MP4 video files vulnerability can remotely execute code – November 18, 2019

[3] Popular Mechanics: How Jeff Bezos Got Hacked on WhatsApp—and How It Could Happen to You – January 26, 2020

[4] Forbes: If Jeff Bezos’ iPhone Can Be Hacked Over WhatsApp, So Can Yours – January 22, 2020

[5] Pavel Durov: A New Backdoor Was Quietly Found In WhatsApp – November 20, 2019

[6] Reuters: U.N. says officials barred from using WhatsApp since June 2019 over security – January 23, 2020

[7] CNN: UN expert recommends Kushner change his phone after suspected Saudi hack – January 23, 2020

[8] Gizmodo: Facebook Gives Unintelligible Response to Jeff Bezos Hack, Deciding to Blame iOS – January 26, 2020

[9] Pavel Durov: iCloud Is Now Officially a Surveillance Tool – January 21, 2020

[10] Jeff Bezos: No thank you, Mr. Pecker – February 7, 2020

[11] BBC Radio 4: We're as sure as you can be that the technology of end-to-end encryption cannot be hacked into: Facebook’s Nick Clegg – January 24, 2020

[12] Reuters: Apple dropped plan for encrypting backups after FBI complained – January 21, 2020

[13] (a) The Verge: Russia orders immediate block of Telegram messaging app – April 13, 2018

(b) New York Times: Russian Court Bans Telegram App After 18 Minute Hearing – April 13, 2018

[14] Business Insider: WhatsApp disclosed 12 security flaws last year, including 7 classified as 'critical,' after Jeff Bezos phone was reportedly hacked – January 28, 2020

[15] Telegram: Verifiable Builds, New Theme Editor, Send When Online and So Much More – December 31, 2019