Secret Chats are one of the service’s 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 device’s that initiated and accepted the chat. Additionally, Telegram notes that secret chats leave no trace on the company’s services and offer a self-destruct timer.
For some time, Mr. Durov and a few dozen staffers had no fixed headquarters, but rather traveled the world, setting up shop in one city after another, he told the Journal in 2016. The company now has its operational base in Dubai, though it says it doesn’t keep servers there.Mr. Durov maintains a yearslong friendship from his VK days with actor and tech investor Jared Leto, with whom he shares an ascetic lifestyle that eschews meat and alcohol.
