Official vs. Third-Party Telegram Clients: An Overview
Conclusion
Telegram offers a variety of official and third-party clients. Users should exercise caution when making their choice to ensure security and privacy protection. While official clients are open-source, some third-party clients may present security vulnerabilities.
Official Telegram Clients
Telegram currently offers the following official clients:
- iOS: Telegram, Telegram X (discontinued)
- Android: Telegram, Telegram X
- Windows: Telegram Desktop
- macOS: Telegram, Telegram Desktop/Lite
- Linux: Telegram Desktop
Telegram's official clients are open-source, meaning anyone can download their source code and compile or modify it to create new unofficial client applications. These unofficial clients might be maliciously modified, posing a risk of uploading user data to private servers. Therefore, extreme caution is required when choosing third-party clients.
Secure Third-Party Clients
Currently, the following third-party clients are widely recognised as secure and free of malicious code:
- iOS: Intent (AI features), Swiftgram (established developer), iMe Messenger, Nicegram (increased ads after acquisition)
- Android: Intent (AI features), Plus Messenger (most downloaded)
- Windows: Unigram, Kotatogram
Special note: On the Android platform, an app called "Telegram中文版" (Telegram Chinese Version) exists. This is not an official client but a third-party application that includes paid "membership" features; caution is advised when using it. Furthermore, when searching for "telegram中文版", the first few pages of results are often fake phishing websites, so please remain vigilant.
Client Synchronisation and Language Support
Whether official or unofficial, all clients can connect to Telegram servers, meaning group, channel, and message content are synchronised in real-time. Telegram does not limit the number of clients and devices; users can view the same content across different clients and devices, with all messages fully synchronised.
Unofficial clients can also utilise language packs officially supported by Telegram, ensuring a consistent user experience.
More Information
For more details, please visit the Telegram Official Website.