Telegram Is The WhatsApp Alternative That The Government Has Failed To Block

WhatsApp is basically the most popular communication tool in Zimbabwe and now that it –along with social media- has been blocked, the country has basically come to a standstill over the past two days.

Time and time again when WhatsApp and Telegram comparisons are made there are always people rooting for Telegram saying that it’s better than WhatsApp because of [insert whatever reason is given] but finally it seems there might be a legit reason that actually gets Zimbos seriously using Telegram. You see, Telegram is working whether you have a VPN or not which means right now it’s the simplest way to communicate without having to go around any loops and hurdles.

Why can’t they block Telegram?

Many governments have tried and failed to block Telegram with Russia also trying the same tactic but faling last year. Why? Well, apparently to block an Instant Messenger like Telegram the government has to block the IP addresses of every server the messenger uses to communicate with the outside world. Telegram essentially kept changing servers and the Russian government couldn’t keep up.

Telegram also uses domain fronting which allows them to effectively host a service on another company’s system whilst effectively hiding the traffic source. This means traffic just appears like it’s coming from Google and censorship becomes that much harderd.

Anyway, away from all the technical mumbo-jumbo is the fact that Telegram is working without VPNs. You can download Telegram for Android here and for iOS use this link.

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