1. jugoes's Avatar
    I convinced my friends to download BBM and they tested both BBM and Telegram. Unfortunately, here are the things they said:
    1. BBM is too complicated. - I get it. All of my friends who downloaded it - literally all - couldn't figure it out. It's easy for me, since I have a BlackBerry. But it's confusing for Android/iPhone users. And I know they could learn it but they simply don't want to because they think Telegram is easier and cleaner. So why bother?
    2. BBM groups can't send pictures directly from the chat and Android and iPhone users can't send videos at all - deal breaker for them. Most of them love to share videos through messages apps. Also, you can't send voice messages on BBM groups. Telegram sends pictures, videos, audio, documents, pretty much anything. I know BlackBerry users can do it but with a very poor limit to the size of files (6MB) while Telegram can send all files (something Android/iPhones users on BBM can't) up till 1 GB.
    3. They didn't find channels or Glympse useful and Telegram has simple stuff that they like, for example, it has both delivered/read messages system and "last seen".
    4. Most of them hated PINs. They think WhatsApp and Telegram's method to add people better (by phone number).
    5. They can change the background on Telegram while it's not possible to do that on BBM.
    6. Messages delay - no comments on that.

    Though I love BBM and think that options on groups, Glympse and Channels are really nice, my friends don't. They chose Telegram over BBM with no doubts. Most of them are iPhone users.
    Now my BBM list is down to 3 again - 2 with legacy devices so I can't really enjoy all the new features - and just one BB10 user. And those 3 are all people I know who have a BlackBerry (and one is planning to trade it for an iPhone). That's how things are here in Brazil (or at least, at the City where I live).
    02-25-14 09:59 PM
  2. Thesmartmale's Avatar
    3. They didn't find channels or Glympse useful and Telegram has simple stuff that they like, for example, it has both delivered/read messages system and "last seen".
    Telegram has read/ delivery system?! I don't think that's true, I haven't tried Telegram but I hear it's a Whatsapp clon and Whatsapp never had it, people confused it with the one and two ticks that happen because of IOS limitations.

    It's funny how Apples failure to make a true multitasking OS caused people to think it's a feature in Whatsapp.

    Posted via CB10
    02-26-14 02:34 AM
  3. Richard Buckley's Avatar
    The sad news is that Telegram security is badly broken, but people will still use it. When this thread was started I had a look at the Telegram site and must say I was not impressed by they encryption protocols. The first red flag is that instead of using well know and tested protocols they decided to roll their own. Luckily you don't have to take my word for it:

    02-26-14 05:59 AM
  4. tomsobon's Avatar
    I convinced my friends to download BBM and they tested both BBM and Telegram. Unfortunately, here are the things they said:
    1. BBM is too complicated. - I get it. All of my friends who downloaded it - literally all - couldn't figure it out. It's easy for me, since I have a BlackBerry. But it's confusing for Android/iPhone users. And I know they could learn it but they simply don't want to because they think Telegram is easier and cleaner. So why bother?
    2. BBM groups can't send pictures directly from the chat and Android and iPhone users can't send videos at all - deal breaker for them. Most of them love to share videos through messages apps. Also, you can't send voice messages on BBM groups. Telegram sends pictures, videos, audio, documents, pretty much anything. I know BlackBerry users can do it but with a very poor limit to the size of files (6MB) while Telegram can send all files (something Android/iPhones users on BBM can't) up till 1 GB.
    3. They didn't find channels or Glympse useful and Telegram has simple stuff that they like, for example, it has both delivered/read messages system and "last seen".
    4. Most of them hated PINs. They think WhatsApp and Telegram's method to add people better (by phone number).
    5. They can change the background on Telegram while it's not possible to do that on BBM.
    6. Messages delay - no comments on that.

    Though I love BBM and think that options on groups, Glympse and Channels are really nice, my friends don't. They chose Telegram over BBM with no doubts. Most of them are iPhone users.
    Now my BBM list is down to 3 again - 2 with legacy devices so I can't really enjoy all the new features - and just one BB10 user. And those 3 are all people I know who have a BlackBerry (and one is planning to trade it for an iPhone). That's how things are here in Brazil (or at least, at the City where I live).
    man i couldn't agree more with you. BBM for IOS and Android is a massive failure... I wont start telling all the stuff i dislike about it, cause you wrote them all but i'll add one:

    guys open your bbm and then your whatsapp on BB10, see the similarity? the menus, the layout etc etc?
    That's because Whatsapp had the decency to adapt its messaging platform to what we, blackberrry users, are use to, and thank you for that.. (whatsapp is complitely different on IOS)

    now open BBM on IOS, it's the exact copy of BBM for BB10, and i'm sorry to say, but that doesn't work!!! the gesture menus we are used to on blackberry are unknown for ios users.
    so much for hard work from blackberry, it took them 2years to make the app available to two platforms.... ridiculous..

    BBM cross platform IS a failure.. and yes TELEGRAM is great, simple, efficient.
    jugoes likes this.
    02-26-14 06:36 AM
  5. crackberry_geek's Avatar
    man i couldn't agree more with you. BBM for IOS and Android is a massive failure... I wont start telling all the stuff i dislike about it, cause you wrote them all but i'll add one:

    guys open your bbm and then your whatsapp on BB10, see the similarity? the menus, the layout etc etc?
    That's because Whatsapp had the decency to adapt its messaging platform to what we, blackberrry users, are use to, and thank you for that.. (whatsapp is complitely different on IOS)

    now open BBM on IOS, it's the exact copy of BBM for BB10, and i'm sorry to say, but that doesn't work!!! the gesture menus we are used to on blackberry are unknown for ios users.
    so much for hard work from blackberry, it took them 2years to make the app available to two platforms.... ridiculous..

    BBM cross platform IS a failure.. and yes TELEGRAM is great, simple, efficient.
    I can't speak about Telegram as I haven't used it, but you guys are spot on regarding cross platform BBM... epic FAIL!!

    Posted with Z10 via CB10
    02-26-14 08:43 AM
  6. NG888's Avatar
    I think everyone's comments above are valid, BlackBerry should have taken up this opportunity, but you have to remember that whatsapp and telegram automatically add everyone in your contact list with the application as contacts, which is not necessarily what everyone wants. Sure it will spread a lot quicker, is that the direction bbm wants to take, or is that it's point of difference. BBM has managed to allow the user to control this, with suggested contacts.

    Posted via CB10
    02-26-14 09:17 AM
  7. Miller K's Avatar
    Stiftung Warentest those guys just tested messengers as far as privacy is concerned.

    In german: WhatsApp und Alternativen - Datenschutz im Test - Schnelltest - Stiftung Warentest

    Results:

    • Whatsapp, BBM, Line suck.
    • Telegram sucks less.
    • Threema doesn't suck.


    Reasons why BBM sucks:
    • They were not able to verifly that there is end-to-end encryption.
    • The iOS and Android App are not secure.
    • It is not open source.
    • Legally, BB has the option to share the accumulated data with third parties.
    02-26-14 01:22 PM
  8. MrGlenn's Avatar
    How is "not open source" a bad thing when it comes to privacy issues?
    And "can't confirm encryption" does not really tell us much either.

    But it is good to see comparisons are being made.

    BlackBerry 10 signed.
    02-26-14 01:30 PM
  9. jugoes's Avatar
    Telegram has read/ delivery system?! I don't think that's true, I haven't tried Telegram but I hear it's a Whatsapp clon and Whatsapp never had it, people confused it with the one and two ticks that happen because of IOS limitations.

    It's funny how Apples failure to make a true multitasking OS caused people to think it's a feature in Whatsapp.

    Posted via CB10
    Yes, I know that on Whatsapp one and two ticks meant nothing, but on Telegram it's delivered and read. You can see it on Telegram's official website. It says on the FAQ page:

    Q: What do the green ticks mean?

    One tick — message sent (and is on our server, waiting for your friend to open Telegram), notification sent (your friend is notified, if he receives notifications).
    Two ticks — message read (your friend opened Telegram and opened the conversation that had the message).


    Telegram really does look like WhatsApp, however, it has minor differences that people like. I'd prefer to stay on BBM but I can't do that if I have no contact there, right?
    And the worse part is that Telegram's apk doesn't work so good on my z10 - my contact list does not appear, even though I have many friends who have Telegram and they even added me to groups. So I hope someone develops a Telegram app for us soon... don't wanna go back to the SMS era
    02-26-14 01:55 PM
  10. Rjinswand's Avatar
    How is "not open source" a bad thing when it comes to privacy issues?
    If it was open source one could check the code and see if there are some backdoors and stuff like that.
    And "can't confirm encryption" does not really tell us much either.
    BBM doesn't offer end-to-end encryption. That will actually be a selling point for eBBMs BBM Protect later this year. But seeing other IM services offer this to anyone I think BlackBerry should do the same. They could bring it as an IAP option in the coming BBM shop.
    02-26-14 03:31 PM
  11. Wmsi's Avatar
    A lot of good points here.

    Most people consider BBM to be like ICQ...a once great and innovative messaging system that has been surpassed. So marketing $$$ just have to be spent on this.

    Also, the sign-up process is what will kill BBM...it does need to evolve to keep pace with WhatsApp and Telegram.
    lmsilvam likes this.
    02-27-14 05:55 AM
  12. Richard Buckley's Avatar
    If it was open source one could check the code and see if there are some backdoors and stuff like that.
    Someone could, but no one ever does. Goto fail was open source.


    BBM doesn't offer end-to-end encryption. That will actually be a selling point for eBBMs BBM Protect later this year. But seeing other IM services offer this to anyone I think BlackBerry should do the same. They could bring it as an IAP option in the coming BBM shop.
    Many other services offer end-to-end encryption, but how many really deliver? Text Secure, Threema, iMessage? I can't think of any others. Telegraph certainly doesn't.



    Posted via CB10
    02-27-14 07:45 AM
  13. lmsilvam's Avatar
    This whole thing shows that perceptions matter, sometimes more than facts.

    Even two or three years ago BBM was a big thing here in Latin America, but it's been winding down. What really struck me is that Telegram is big news here now, even more so than BBM4ALL when released. I would have expected people to go back to BBM since it was something that was familiar to them and it was basically the first IM system they used on their phones. Nevertheless, the reception was lukewarm, since WhatsApp dominates and people really seemed to be happy enough to migrate.

    However, Telegram is very quickly rising in popularity, go figure. A newcomer, alright, but with very positive word-of-mouth and apparently a "cool" factor that is no longer associated with BlackBerry. As a matter of fact there is a widespread perception here in Latam that BlackBerry is "uncool"... if you have some Spanish you can see it for yourselves in specialised tech forums: BBM? Must be some dodgy fella/girl or someone who knows little about technology.

    Most consumers here do not care much about security or previous experience, it would seem. It's something different. It is about the cool factor but it's not only that. It certainly is about "BlackBerry is dead" or "BlackBerry is only for businesspeople" or "BlackBerry is so 2009". These perceptions are dangerous for the adoption of BBM alright, but also for anything branded BlackBerry... those perceptions will make a comeback really really difficult, and BlackBerry will continuously find themselves in situations such as this one: a newcomer with higher adoption rate than their own true-and-tried solution.
    02-28-14 11:04 AM
  14. Mcwong's Avatar
    Telegram is so well written on Android. There's no persistent icon and no services/process can be seen running in the background and yet messages are delivered instantly and secured! It may have copied whatsapp's UI to ease users migration but it's the security and speed that matters. It's smooth and relatively bug free when compared to BBM. It has customizable alert tones too. Great app.
    03-01-14 08:11 AM
  15. Mcwong's Avatar
    I tested Telegram and single tick is delivered, double ticks is read. Whatsapp uses single tick for delivered to server, double ticks is delivered to device.
    03-01-14 08:16 AM
  16. MrGlenn's Avatar
    I set up BBM for my parents and it does the same things. No persistant icon (can be toggled), no background process showing, instant delivery).
    The only thing is has on BBM is the easy user adding process.
    Telegram is so well written on Android. There's no persistent icon and no services/process can be seen running in the background and yet messages are delivered instantly and secured! It may have copied whatsapp's UI to ease users migration but it's the security and speed that matters. It's smooth and relatively bug free when compared to BBM. It has customizable alert tones too. Great app.


    BlackBerry 10 signed.
    03-01-14 08:45 AM
  17. tchocky77's Avatar
    I set up BBM for my parents and it does the same things. No persistant icon (can be toggled), no background process showing, instant delivery).
    The only thing is has on BBM is the easy user adding process.



    BlackBerry 10 signed.
    What devices are your parents using?


    Sent from my iPad using CB Forums
    03-01-14 12:22 PM
  18. MrGlenn's Avatar
    I set them up on a Samsung Galaxy S and a Note, not sure what generation.
    03-01-14 01:43 PM
  19. dmbkrckr's Avatar
    Is BBM as secure and private as Telegram or Wickr?

    Sent from my A500 using CB Forums mobile app
    03-01-14 08:26 PM
  20. Richard Buckley's Avatar
    Is BBM as secure and private as Telegram or Wickr?

    Sent from my A500 using CB Forums mobile app
    Since Telegram is neither secure or private BBM is more so than telegram. BBM uses SSL / TLS where Telegram uses a encryption they cooked up on their own and has already been criticised by professional cryptographers.

    I'll have to look at Wickr.

    Edit:

    Unfortunately Wickr does not even provide the level of information on their communication protocols as Telegram does, at least I couldn't find it. They talk about famous cryptographers, but don't name them. How do peace negotiators help? Looks like a lot of hand waving to me.
    Posted via CB10
    Last edited by Richard Buckley; 03-01-14 at 09:22 PM.
    03-01-14 09:04 PM
  21. gdarmy's Avatar
    Since Telegram is neither secure or private BBM is more so than telegram. BBM uses SSL / TLS where Telegram uses a encryption they cooked up on their own and has already been criticised by professional cryptographers.

    I'll have to look at Wickr.

    Edit:

    Unfortunately Wickr does not even provide the level of information on their communication protocols as Telegram does, at least I couldn't find it. They talk about famous cryptographers, but don't name them. How do peace negotiators help? Looks like a lot of hand waving to me.
    Posted via CB10
    Secure in what area? BBM is very secure against prying eyes. Security against what?
    03-01-14 10:36 PM
  22. Alberto8's Avatar
    How do I post my BBM pin to Facebook?

    Posted via CB10
    03-02-14 04:25 PM
  23. nah.uhh's Avatar
    How do I post my BBM pin to Facebook?

    Posted via CB10
    In the Bbm, open your profile (tap on your profile pic) and tap "share pin". You can also "share pin" from the menu (3 dots bottom left)

    Or manually post www.pin.bbm.com/YourPinHere

    Example www.pin.bbm.com/C00012B19

    If you don't have someone's pin, you can also send invites via text or email. Just punch in the phone number or email address on the invite screen and it will email or text them an invite.
    03-02-14 08:00 PM
  24. Mcwong's Avatar
    Very true, here are a few other points where Telegram has done it better than BBM, not major but practical. As a bbm user, I'm losing contacts, every week some friends uninstalls bbm.
    1. Customizable alert tones on iPhone. The inaudible bbm tone renders it almost unusable. My wife can't hear it tone and never responds.
    2. File transfers upto 1gb, any file types.
    3. Secret chats
    4. Simple uncluttered UI
    5. Sent n read (single and double ticks). Bbm's sometimes don't work (android version).
    5. Channels too limited, no sorting available.
    Last edited by Mcwong; 03-06-14 at 02:08 AM.
    03-03-14 11:48 AM
  25. Mcwong's Avatar
    Totally agree with your findings. My bbm contacts has shrunk from 13 to 4 inactive users. Bbm believes pins is a selling point and refuse to change but instead use email and Facebook contacts to recommend contacts. These may just be distant acquaintances rather than close friends. Bbm is also buggy, sometimes the icon closes n messages not received, sent status sometimes don't show (nexus 4 to iPhone). iPhone users can't hear the ringtone. I find Telegram to be faster than whatsapp and voice notes will be available in a few weeks. Whatsapp can sometimes be very slow but Telegram is real time instant! Hopefully this speed is maintained after user base increases.
    03-06-14 02:23 AM
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