OSHI vs Telegram — Which Is More Private?

Telegram is one of the most feature-rich messengers available: huge groups, public channels, bots, cloud sync across every device, and a famously fast, polished app. For sheer capability it is impressive, and its large user base makes it a real communication platform, not just a chat app.

But there is a crucial detail people miss: Telegram's ordinary "cloud" chats are not end-to-end encrypted. They are encrypted in transit and stored on Telegram's servers, where Telegram holds the keys. End-to-end encryption is only available in one-to-one "Secret Chats," which are not the default and are not available for groups. OSHI, by contrast, is end-to-end encrypted by default for every conversation, needs no phone number, and can even work offline over a mesh. This page compares Telegram's strengths against OSHI's privacy-first design honestly.

Feature comparison: OSHI vs Telegram

Where Telegram genuinely wins

Telegram is a phenomenal product. Its channels and supergroups scale to hundreds of thousands of members, making it a genuine broadcasting and community platform. Its bot API is powerful and widely used, cloud sync means your full history is instantly available on any device, and the client apps are fast, beautiful and available everywhere including Linux. If your goal is reach, communities, media sharing and features — rather than maximum confidentiality — Telegram is excellent, and OSHI does not try to replicate all of that breadth.

The encryption caveat everyone should know

The privacy story is more nuanced than Telegram's reputation suggests. Because default cloud chats are stored server-side with keys Telegram controls, Telegram is technically able to access that content, and it is subject to lawful data requests. Only Secret Chats — opt-in, device-specific, one-to-one only — are end-to-end encrypted. Telegram also uses its own home-grown MTProto cryptography, which security researchers have repeatedly criticised for using non-standard constructions rather than well-reviewed protocols like the Double Ratchet. None of this makes Telegram "insecure" for casual use, but it is a very different guarantee from an app that is end-to-end encrypted everywhere by default.

Where OSHI is different

OSHI applies end-to-end encryption to every chat automatically, group or one-to-one, using X25519, AES-256-GCM and a Double Ratchet in the Signal-protocol family rather than a custom scheme. It requires no phone number, where Telegram ties your account to your SIM. And OSHI is decentralized: messages can travel over a Bluetooth and WiFi mesh, over Tor, or through a self-hosted content-addressed store, so there is no single server holding your history. It adds on-device AI and steganographic channels. What OSHI does not offer is Telegram-scale public channels and mega-groups — that is a deliberate trade-off in favour of confidentiality.

Who each app suits

Use Telegram for communities, channels, bots, large groups and cross-device convenience, understanding that default chats are readable by Telegram and that true E2EE requires Secret Chats.

Use OSHI when you want every conversation end-to-end encrypted by default, no phone number, decentralized delivery and offline resilience, and you do not need Telegram's broadcasting features. For sensitive one-to-one and small-group conversations, OSHI's defaults are stronger.

Frequently asked questions