In order to carry out a comparative analysis of two applications, evaluation criteria should be based on the most relevant issues taking place in a virtual communication environment. They include functionality, security, and information storage and transmission method. The comparison of the mentioned messengers based on the given positions will eventually allow to determine if it is Telegram or Viber which is better for the average user.
Functionality
The difference in release date of the given services is equal to three years: Viber entered a market in 2010 and Telegram in 2013. Not surprisingly, the older product is more preferable in terms of functionality.
Apart from a standard set of options, Viber also offers the users the following ones:
video chat;
voice chat;
multi-language support (32 languages);
possibility of receiving messages in Airplane Mode;
lots of stickers (although some of them are not free);
possibility of sending free text messages to telephone numbers.
Lately, a product of Pavel Durovʼs company has started to rapidly reduce the difference.
Thus, currently, it is hard to give a straight answer to the question «Which messenger is more functional – Viber or Telegram?».
The advantages of Telegram include the following ones:
availability of supergroups where up to 5000 members can be added;
self-destructing text messages and images;
possibility of interface customization;
control of sound notifications which can be disabled if necessary.
Communication security
Initially, Telegram was being developed as an anonymous messenger with an increased focus on communication security. For this reason, it is superior to practically all modern messengers in terms of information security. The possibility of communicating in secret chats, where conversation is stored on the userʼs devices without server interference, allows making yourself safe from third parties snooping. Besides, as opposed to its competitor, Telegram has an option which allows closing all sessions open on other devices.
For login authorization in Telegram, it is possible to enable both single-factor (by means of SMS-code) and two-factor (by means of SMS-code and a password) authentication. At the same time, Viber uses QR code identification for authentication and adding a new contact. If it becomes necessary to call a suspicious contact, it is possible to request its verification code.
Viber vs Telegram – comparative analysis of operation speed
After installation on iOS and Android, Telegram service takes up the same amount of memory equal to 9 MB. The amount of resources required for Viber operation is higher and equal to 36 and 19 MB correspondingly. Due to the fact that Telegram developers managed to solve a problem regarding information storage by means of creating a special «cloud», the load on devices significantly decreased. The given option is not provided for Viber, so all data is stored on a smartphone which adversely affects its performance.
According to the users’ observations, Telegram operates faster if compared to its competitors. Firstly, it is connected with peculiarities of the MTProto protocol which is a foundation of overall service operation. In addition, a decentralized structure of servers located around the globe is used for transmitting the messages, thus ensuring immediate data transmission and processing. It is fair to say that Viber also belongs to rather fast applications and is characterized by a split second speed difference which is absolutely indistinguishable when sending text messages.
Conclusion
Currently, the audience of Viber exceeds the number of its competitor’s users by more than 7 times – to be more precise, it is 750 mln vs 100 mln. Such statistics is not surprising if taking into account the difference in release data of two applications.
Viber has a successful operating experience on the virtual communication market while Telegram is just starting its way lagging behind in terms of its functional, first of all. However, the fact that the latter one was created by Pave Durov suggests serious prospects for its further development. What is more, Telegram has already established a lead over its competitor in terms of security and operation speed parameters. In view of this, a great number of smartphone users give preference to a relatively new service.
Apart from a standard set of options, Viber also offers the users the following ones:
According to the users’ observations, Telegram operates faster if compared to its competitors. Firstly, it is connected with peculiarities of the MTProto protocol which is a foundation of overall service operation. In addition, a decentralized structure of servers located around the globe is used for transmitting the messages, thus ensuring immediate data transmission and processing. It is fair to say that Viber also belongs to rather fast applications and is characterized by a split second speed difference which is absolutely indistinguishable when sending text messages.
