Both Telegram and WhatsApp are controlled by corporations. Both require a phone number. Both decide for you how your data is stored. GoMsg is a decentralized alternative: voice channels, a full-featured messenger, your own server, zero data collection. No phone number. No corporations.
The Telegram problem
Telegram has long positioned itself as "the most secure messenger." But marketing is one thing, and reality is another.
Centralization despite the promises
Telegram constantly talks about decentralization, but in practice it is a centralized platform. All servers belong to a single company — Telegram Messenger Inc. All messages (except secret chats) pass through their infrastructure. You depend on a single provider.
- Telegram servers — closed source. No one but the company itself knows what happens there.
- A single owner — Pavel Durov and his company make every decision unilaterally.
- No self-hosting — you cannot deploy your own Telegram server. Period.
Encryption — not by default
How many times have you heard "Telegram is an end-to-end encrypted messenger"? That is not true. E2E encryption in Telegram only works in "secret chats," which you have to create manually. Regular chats are encrypted on the server, which means — Telegram can read them.
Group chats in Telegram are never E2E encrypted. The server has access to the content of all your group conversations.
Tied to a phone number
Telegram requires a phone number. This means:
- Your identity is tied to every chat
- No anonymity — your number is visible to contacts
- Changing numbers is a pain. Losing your number means losing your account.
- States and intelligence agencies can link an account to a real person
No voice channels
Telegram has group calls and voice messages. But there are no persistent voice rooms — where you can drop into a channel, see who's online, and start talking without having to call. This model, invented by Discord, is simply absent from Telegram.
The WhatsApp problem
If Telegram masks its problems with marketing, WhatsApp doesn't even try. It is a messenger owned by Meta (Facebook's parent company) — the largest advertising network in the world. And they're not shy about it.
Meta's data collection
WhatsApp is part of the Facebook ecosystem. Your data from WhatsApp is merged with data from Instagram, Facebook and other Meta services. This serves one purpose: to show you ads.
What WhatsApp collects:
- Metadata — who you talk to, how often, at what time, from what location.
- Contacts — WhatsApp uploads your entire address book to Meta's servers.
- Device information — model, OS, battery, network.
- Usage — how often you open it, how much time you spend, with whom.
Yes, message content is E2E encrypted. Meta cannot read your texts. But metadata says more than the text itself. Knowing who, when and how often you communicate makes it possible to build a more accurate profile than from the content of your conversations.
Full Meta control
- Closed source — client and server. No audits.
- Self-hosting is impossible — you are completely dependent on Meta's servers.
- Bans — accounts are blocked algorithmically. Appeals are a lottery.
- Backups are not encrypted — by default, backups in Google Drive/iCloud are stored in plain text.
- Mandatory phone number — even stricter than Telegram.
WhatsApp belongs to the same company that sold data to political campaigns (the Cambridge Analytica scandal), lost the data of 533 million users, and repeatedly violated data protection laws around the world. Do you trust them with your messages?
What GoMsg offers
GoMsg is a full-featured messenger, not just a chat. It combines the capabilities of Telegram (channels, groups, messaging), Discord (voice rooms) and a file storage — in one decentralized application.
✔ Decentralization
The global network unites users. But anyone can run their own server and become independent.
✔ Your own server
Deploy your own server in 5 minutes via Docker. Full control over your community's data.
✔ Voice rooms
Persistent voice channels — drop in and talk. Audio, video, without a call. Like Discord.
✔ Channels and groups
Channels for broadcasting to thousands of subscribers. Groups with administration. Like Telegram.
✔ Multi-profiles
One account — different personas. Work, friends, anonymity. No phone numbers.
✔ S3 storage
Files of any size. Photos, videos, documents. Fast access, no limits.
✔ Open Source
AGPL-3.0. All code is open. Server, client, protocol. Audit, verify, modify.
✔ Zero data collection
No analytics. No metadata. No sharing with third parties.
Comparison of three messengers
| Criterion | Telegram | GoMsg | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Source | Client yes | Closed | Fully |
| Self-hosting | Impossible | Impossible | 5 minutes |
| Decentralization | No | No | Full |
| Data collection | Metadata | Total | Zero |
| Phone number | Required | Required | Not needed |
| Multi-profiles | No | No | Yes |
| Voice rooms | No | No | Yes |
| Channels | Yes | Limited | Yes |
| Groups | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Files without limit | 2 GB | 2 GB | S3 |
| E2E by default | No | Yes | Decentralized |
| Owner | Durov | Meta/FB | Open Source |
| Ads | Channels | Coming | None |
Why decentralization matters
The main problem with both Telegram and WhatsApp is a single point of failure. One company, one set of servers, one set of rules. If the company is bought, changes its policy, comes under state pressure, or simply shuts down — you lose everything.
Decentralization solves this problem fundamentally:
- No single owner — the global GoMsg network consists of many servers.
- Your own server = your own control — deploy a server for your team, family, or community. You set the rules.
- Impossible to "shut down" — there is no single button that stops the entire network.
- P2P Relay — even if a server is unavailable, users can communicate directly via relay nodes.
How to migrate from Telegram and WhatsApp
You don't need to delete your old messengers on day one. The transition should be gradual:
- Step 1. Open GoMsg in your browser — no registration, no phone number.
- Step 2. Create a profile. Try multi-profiles — impossible in Telegram and WhatsApp.
- Step 3. Invite your close ones. Send a link — no number needed, no installer needed.
- Step 4. Create a voice room. This is something neither Telegram nor WhatsApp has.
- Step 5. Move your important groups and channels. Create them in GoMsg and invite participants.
- Step 6. For full control — deploy your own server. Docker-compose, 5 minutes, done.
Over time you'll notice you open Telegram and WhatsApp less and less. Not because you have to, but because GoMsg is simply more convenient.