Telegram vs Slack

Telegram says it does not use personal data for ad targeting. Sponsored messages in public channels are contextual rather than based on user profiling.

Secret chats are end-to-end encrypted and Telegram says it cannot read them. It also says it does not store secret chats as readable server-side content.

Normal cloud chats, media, and files are stored on Telegram’s servers so they sync across devices. That is convenient, but it means standard chats do not get the same privacy model as secret chats.

Using bots, mini apps, business chatbots, translation, voice-to-text, and payments can send data to independent third parties. In some cases bots may access messages in chats assigned to them.

Telegram Premium renews automatically until canceled, and deleting your account or app does not stop billing. Early cancellation generally does not give a partial refund or credit.

Users can delete their account and cloud data, and Telegram recognizes access, correction, deletion, objection, restriction, and portability rights under applicable law.

Telegram may collect IP address, device/app usage, and username-history metadata for security and abuse prevention, and can keep it for up to 12 months.

Your chosen screen name, username, and profile photos are always public. That makes discovery easier, but reduces default privacy around account identity.

Telegram reserves the right to update its terms and privacy policy later. Privacy-policy changes take effect when posted, though Telegram says important changes will be notified in-app.

Telegram can temporarily or permanently ban accounts for violations, and says it will not compensate users for lost Premium benefits. Reported cloud-chat messages may also be reviewed by moderators.

Telegram says its web service uses only operational cookies and not cookies for profiling or advertising. This is a meaningful privacy-positive compared with many web services.

Telegram says it may disclose IP address and phone number only under valid criminal-authority orders and will include such disclosures in a quarterly transparency report.

Slack collects account details, logs, device information, approximate location, cookies, imported contacts, third-party integration data, and audio/video metadata. That gives Slack a fairly detailed picture of how you and your device use the service.

Owners and administrators may be able to access, modify, or restrict access to information, including profile details and workspace activity logs. In a workplace account, your employer may therefore have substantial visibility into your use of Slack.

If a workspace enables third-party services, Slack may receive and share information with those providers, and those services run under their own policies. Users should assume integrated apps can expand where their data goes.

Slack keeps non-customer personal data as long as necessary for support, legal compliance, disputes, and business purposes, including after account deactivation. That means some data can persist well after you stop using the service.

Slack transfers personal data outside your country, including to the United States and other countries. While it cites safeguards like Standard Contractual Clauses, cross-border transfers still increase jurisdictional exposure.

Slack says users may request access, correction, and deletion of personal information, and can use account settings tools where available. For workspace-controlled data, though, you may need to contact the customer/administrator.

California users get CCPA/CPRA rights, including deletion, disclosure, and opting out of certain ad-related sharing. Slack also recognizes Global Privacy Control for cookie-based sharing signals.

Slack uses personal data to send marketing emails and other promotional communications. You can control some of these messages, but marketing is still an express use of the service data.

If you use Slack through an employer or other customer, that organization controls workspace settings and Customer Data. Practically, this means your message and file access rights may depend more on your workspace admin than on Slack itself.

The terms expressly say the Slack Terms are a binding agreement. This is standard, but it means use of the service is legally governed by incorporated agreements you should read carefully.