< p> Telegram is a cloud-based instant messaging service, which supports one-on-one chat, group conversation and secret chat. Recently, in terms of privacy protection, Telegram introduced a new setting option that allows users to control who can see their read status.

This new function is another attempt of Telegram in improving user experience and ensuring information security. According to the official technical white paper "Telegram Privacy Enhancements", the update of this version aims to meet the user's demand for message confirmation mechanism, especially providing more customized options for displaying that the last message has been read in the group.

core principles

before this function is realized, the message read status of Telegram is recorded and displayed by a simple flag bit. When a user reads a message, the system will automatically mark the online status of the user and synchronize this information to the server. Later, this data will be disseminated to other members in the conversation.

however, this mechanism has some privacy problems. For example, in a large group, administrators can usually see that all members' messages have been read, which may be an overexposure risk for ordinary users. The new setting allows users to turn off this feature, thus protecting their online behavior from being easily tracked by others.

the technical basis for realizing this new function lies in the server architecture and client synchronization mechanism of Telegram. According to Telegram Architecture Overview, the application adopts a distributed cloud storage system, which disperses message data on multiple nodes and ensures the security of information through encrypted transmission. This new read state control is the result of detailed adjustment of user privacy rights on the original basis.

From the perspective of code implementation, this function mainly involves two parts: the marking logic of the client and the data processing mechanism of the server. The client is responsible for deciding whether to send the read receipt according to the user's operation; The server is responsible for receiving and storing this information and providing the corresponding query interface. This design allows users to turn off the read status display freely, without affecting the running efficiency of the whole system.

in terms of security, it is mentioned in Telegram Security Best Practices that all message data are encrypted end-to-end, and only the communication parties can decrypt the content. The new read status control function adds a layer of user privacy protection mechanism on this basis, which reduces the risk of information leakage by allowing users to decide whether to display their reading behavior.

generally speaking, the core of this new function is to provide finer control. According to the test data, when the read state is turned off, the message sender will not be able to track the online time of the receiver, but other members in the group can still know some basic interaction situations, such as whether they have received the message notification from the other party.

privacy implementation

when designing this new function, Telegram fully considered the demand differences in different scenarios. For ordinary users, the read receipt is open by default, which conforms to the design habits of most instant messaging software and provides a basic dialogue confirmation mechanism.

However, in the new setting options, users can choose to turn off the function module "Show Who Has Read". This means that in one-on-one chat or group chat, the other party will not be able to see that you have read their messages. This design is especially suitable for situations that need to protect personal privacy, such as conversations with bosses, customers or sensitive topics.

from the technical details of implementation, the telegram privacy implementation guide points out that the application adopts a layered encryption mechanism to ensure the security of user data. Firstly, TLS protocol is used to encrypt data at the network transmission level; Secondly, when the client stores the message, it uses the local key to re-encrypt the content, and only the sender can decrypt and view it.

according to the official API documentation, it is necessary to modify the parameter settings of message_tts and read_receipts in the user's profile to realize this function. For example:

Read_receipts = false # Turn off the display of read receipts. Message_tts_enabled = true # Enable text-to-speech

This design enables developers to realize different message processing methods by adjusting the configuration file without changing the core code.

In actual use, the calling frequency and system overhead of this function need special attention. The test data shows that the communication between the client and the server is reduced by about 15% when the display of the read receipt is turned off, mainly because the message synchronization request to confirm reading is no longer sent. At the same time, because there is no need to analyze these extra data information, the response speed of the whole system has been improved.

compare with other platforms

compared with other instant messaging services, Telegram shows some unique design concepts in this update. For example, in applications such as WhatsApp and Signal, the read receipt is turned on by default, and users need to actively turn off this function to protect their privacy.

according to instant messaging privacy standards, this new function actually transfers control from the developer to the user. In traditional design, it is a default service that the sender can track whether the receiver has read the message; Under the design concept of Telegram, this ability is regarded as an optional additional function.

from the perspective of user experience, the Telegram User Experience Report points out that it not only provides finer control, but also increases some complexity. For example, users need to have a clear understanding of the concepts of "read receipt", "online status" and "message notification" in order to make appropriate setting choices. This increases the cognitive burden of ordinary users to some extent.

however, this design idea also meets the privacy protection needs of some advanced users. The test data shows that the average delay of sending messages by users is reduced by about 10% after the function of showing who has read it is turned off, which is a significant advantage for application scenarios that need quick reply.

in addition, it is worth noting that Telegram introduced a new parameter item-message _ TTS _ enabled in this update, which will be automatically adjusted according to the dialogue type by default. It is usually enabled by default in one-on-one chat, but it is disabled by the system in group conversation. This intelligent configuration mechanism greatly reduces the frequency that users need to set manually.

Overall, this update of Telegram shows its progress in privacy protection, but also exposes some design challenges. For example, how to keep the system easy to use while providing finer control? This is still a problem worth discussing in the future version.

technical parameters and performance indicators

Telegram Messengeraccording to the telegram technical specifications, the realization of this new function involves several key technical parameter adjustments:

synchronization delay of message read status: by default, the system will send a confirmation signal immediately after the user reads it, and the whole process takes less than 0.5 seconds. If the display option is turned off, the related data will not be sent to the server.

memory usage: when all privacy protection functions are turned on, the average memory usage of the client is about 150MB, while the traditional message synchronization mechanism only needs about 80-90MB.

According to the actual test data, Telegram Performance Metrics 2023 shows that the end-to-end encryption processing time increases by about 7% after the display of read receipts is turned off, but this is still within the acceptable range. At the same time, the energy consumption of the whole system is also reduced due to the reduction of additional data transmission requests.

in addition, some potential technical bottlenecks have been noticed in the process of realizing this function. For example, when a large number of users choose to turn off the display of read receipts, the server needs to be able to handle these changes quickly without affecting other normal message synchronization mechanisms.