Secret Chats are one of the serviceβs additional security features; it allows messages to be sent with client-to-client encryption. This setup means that, unlike regular messages, these secret messages can only be accessed from the deviceβs that initiated and accepted the chat. Additionally, Telegram notes that secret chats leave no trace on the companyβs services and offer a self-destruct timer.
Mr. Durov launched Telegram in late 2013 with his brother, Nikolai, just months before he was pushed out of VK, the Russian social-media platform he founded. Mr. Durov pitched his new appβfunded with the proceeds from the VK saleβless as a business than as a way for people to send messages while avoiding government surveillance and censorship.
