You forgot to mention it requires a phone number

Sources: [1a] Kicksecure Mobile Phone Security

Kicksecure

Mobile Devices Privacy and Security

Mobile devices security and data harvesting. Mobile security best practices and preventative measures against security breaches, data leaks, SIM Sw...

[2a] madaidans insecurities Whonix Dev

Messengers | Madaidan's Insecurities

[2b] https://eprint.iacr.org/2015/1177.pdf Luke Smith Don't Use Telegram. Don't Use Telegram. Don't Use Telegram. Don't Use Telegram. Don't Use Telegram. https://invidious.jing.rocks/watch?v=qBTsUVrCDAQ [3a] Mental Outlaw Telegram Hands Over User Data to German Police https://invidious.jing.rocks/watch?v=t7HZrpJ4OyQ [3b] Mental Outlaw Telegram Review https://invidious.jing.rocks/watch?v=pZEH04nJ_hE [3c] Android Central Telegram reportedly gives user data to German authorities

Android Central

Telegram reportedly gives user data to German authorities

The messaging service allegedly complied with government data requests in some cases.

Who told you phones have insecure hardware?

If you register over Tor, you get often labeled spam and can't send outgoing without them adding first. If you register without Tor, then use Tor, it doesn't care. But you've already "doxxed" yourself

Sorry if it was unclear the sources were in the comments. Phones have a baseband modem which is insecure, and easily hacked. This has just one reference, but basic search will show a lot. We also might write an article on it in the future.

Most negatives of Telegram also apply to Signal. Both require phone number identification.

Yes and no. Signal lets you use literally any VoIP While as Telegram is very strict on VoIP. and even banning Tor, and even checking if the IP country matches the phone area code

Telegram is more akin to a social media as Discord without being centralized in the U.S. Also it has FOSS client. Few privacy apps are trusted like Matrix or SimpleX, I wouldn't even trust Signal.

#Telegram indeed is horrible for #privacy as a messenger. However, much of it's popularity could be due to it's other use: as an easy to manage, mobile-friendly public forum with free hosting or a social media channel. Organisations that are on government blacklists and are unjustly banned from #BigTech social media have a thriving presence on Telegram as long as the app is the website version, not from Google or Apple stores. So unless Telegram starts banning them from their non-appstore versions, people will most probably not look for better alternatives... However, they might consider switching if alternative apps are able to do what Telegram does but even better. Not endorsing any of this of course, just observations.

It says here the baseband has full access to memory and can compromise it unless IOMMU used, which all the devices GrapheneOS supports have, so it's not an issue