Famous messaging app Telegram seems to have a privacy issue due to one of its key features.
According to the researchers from the Fidelis Cybersecurity, Telegram may have a privacy problem which exposes their users to the scammers.
The main reason people use Telegram is the encryption feature it offers to its users. At present, when you sign-up for Telegram, it will scan all your contact list and notify the other users that you are now a member. This is where the security problem lies if your phone number is on someone’s contact list, and he is on Telegram, then he will also be told when you join the service.
“If spammer signs up for the Telegram and if he already had your phone number in his contact list, it will also notify him that you also have Telegram,” the post reads. “So, in addition to connecting you with your friends and contacts, this app will also connect scammers to you. Similarly, if you happen to have scammers’ numbers in your contact list for some random reason, then you will get push notifications when they join Telegram.”
This looks like a rising problem as the security company noticed that more and more scammers are signing up for their service. Even worse is that there’s no way to prevent other people from knowing that you use Telegram.
The risk grows even further when you take the uses of this particular feature for third parties into account. For example, intelligence agencies take this type of apps a “risk factor.” Basically, if you want to have your privacy, they will think you have something to hide. The same assumption could be made by border control officers, and we have all seen what is happening in the American airports.
