Software Alternatives & Startups

Telegram VS Textlore.app

Compare Telegram VS Textlore.app and see what are their differences

Telegram

Telegram is a messaging app with a focus on speed and security. It’s superfast, simple and free.

Rating
5.0 · 1 review
Pricing
Open source
Textlore.app

Search, browse, and export your whole iMessage history on your Mac

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Paid Free trial $29 / One-off (Lifetime licence, 2 Macs)

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Telegram seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 139 times since March 2021.

social mentions
139 vs 0
Communication popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 4

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Telegram
Textlore.app
Website telegram.org textlore.app
Pricing
Open source
Paid Free trial $29 / One-off (Lifetime licence, 2 Macs) Official pricing
Platforms —
MacOS
Company Startup from the United Arab Emirates · 10 - 19 employees · 2013 Startup from India · 1 - 9 employees · 2026
Listed in

About Telegram and Textlore.app

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Telegram
Textlore.app

No description of Telegram yet.

Textlore is a Mac app that finds any message in your iMessage history in seconds. Search as you type with filters for person, date, photos and links, browse every photo and file people sent you, and export any conversation to PDF, HTML, CSV or Markdown. Version 1.1 adds Recs and Promises:...

Read more about Textlore.app

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Telegram 8 features
Textlore.app 8 features
  • Privacy and Security
    Telegram offers end-to-end encryption for its Secret Chats and uses its MTProto protocol to ensure secure communication.
  • Multi-Platform Support
    Telegram is available on multiple platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring seamless access across different devices.
  • Cloud Storage
    Users can store and access their messages, files, and media in the cloud, making it easy to retrieve conversations from any device.
  • Large Group Chats
    Telegram supports large group chats with up to 200,000 members, making it suitable for communities and public discussion groups.
  • Bots and Automation
    Developers can create custom bots to automate tasks, provide customer service, or deliver content, enhancing the utility of the platform.
  • Customization
    Users can customize the app's appearance with themes, chat backgrounds, and other visual settings to suit their preferences.
  • Free and Ad-Free
    Telegram is free to use and does not show advertisements, which enhances the user experience.
  • File Sharing
    Users can share various types of files, including videos, documents, and images, with a generous file size limit of up to 2GB.

Possible disadvantages

  • Data Privacy Concerns
    Despite claims of security, Telegram's servers are proprietary, and the company's data practices have been questioned by privacy advocates.
  • Limited E2E Encryption
    End-to-end encryption is only available for Secret Chats and not for all conversations, leaving standard chats potentially less secure.
  • Spam and Misinformation
    The platform's large group support and open nature make it susceptible to spam and the spread of misinformation.
  • Not Fully Open Source
    While Telegram's client-side code is open source, the server-side code remains proprietary, which limits transparency.
  • Blocked in Some Countries
    Telegram is blocked or restricted in certain countries due to its use by various groups, which may limit its accessibility for some users.
  • Resource Intensive
    The app can be resource-intensive on both mobile and desktop platforms, potentially affecting performance on lower-end devices.
  • No Direct Monetization Options for Users
    Users cannot directly monetize their content or channels within Telegram, which may be a disadvantage for content creators.
  • Instant Search
    Search years of iMessage history as you type, with filters for person, date, photos, links and files.
  • Recs
    On-device AI lists every book, show, restaurant and app friends told you to try, with their exact words.
  • Promises
    Lists every time you said you would do something, and whether a later message shows you kept it.
  • WhatsApp Support
    Reads WhatsApp for Mac chats alongside iMessage, in one search.
  • Export
    Export any conversation or date range to PDF, HTML, CSV, Markdown or an image.
  • Attachments Browser
    Every photo and file people sent you, by person and date.
  • Local Archive
    Keeps messages and photos even after Messages deletes or offloads them.
  • Privacy
    Runs entirely on your Mac. Nothing is uploaded and no message is ever sent or changed.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Telegram
Textlore.app

Overall verdict

  • Telegram is generally considered a good messaging platform, especially for users who prioritize privacy and need advanced features for group communications. However, it's important to assess personal needs and privacy concerns when choosing a messaging app.

Why this product is good

  • Telegram is a popular messaging app known for its strong emphasis on privacy and security, featuring end-to-end encryption for secret chats. It offers a wide range of functionalities including large group chats, media sharing, bots for automation, and customization options through themes and stickers. Additionally, it is cloud-based, allowing for seamless syncing across multiple devices.

Recommended for

  • Individuals looking for enhanced privacy features
  • Users who participate in large group chats
  • Developers and tech enthusiasts interested in using bots
  • People who want cross-device syncing
  • Those who appreciate customization options for their messaging experience

No analysis of Textlore.app yet.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Telegram 3 videos + Add
Textlore.app 0 videos + Add

WhatsApp vs Telegram vs Signal: Which is the BEST?!

More videos

  • - 10 Reasons Why Telegram is BETTER than WhatsApp
  • - How to Use Telegram

No Textlore.app videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Telegram
Textlore.app
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
99% 99%
1% 1%
100% 100%
0% 0%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Telegram and Textlore.app.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Textlore.app's answer:

Mac users with years of iMessage history: people who want to find an old text, save photos and conversations before they are lost, print messages for legal or personal records, or see what friends recommended over the years.

What makes your product unique?

Textlore.app's answer:

It reads your whole iMessage and WhatsApp history on your Mac and turns it into lists you can use: every book, show, restaurant and app friends told you to try, and every promise you made. Apple's on-device AI does the reading, so nothing ever leaves your Mac.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Textlore.app's answer:

iMazing and Decipher read iPhone backups and focus on exporting. Textlore works on the Messages already on your Mac, searches as you type, finds recommendations and promises with on-device AI, and costs $29 once instead of a yearly subscription. It is also the only one with WhatsApp chats in the same search.

What's the story behind your product?

Textlore.app's answer:

I'm Raja, and I write The Useful Tech, the most followed Apple blog on Medium. I kept losing things friends told me in texts and Messages search could not find them. So I built a Mac app that finds any message in seconds and lists the recommendations and promises buried in years of chats.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Textlore.app's answer:

Swift and SwiftUI with macOS 27 Liquid Glass, SQLite with full-text search, Apple's on-device Foundation Models and Natural Language embeddings for the AI features, and Sparkle for updates.

User comments

Share your experience with using Telegram and Textlore.app. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Telegram 5.0 · 1 review
Textlore.app no reviews yet

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We have no reviews of Textlore.app yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Telegram 139 mentions
Textlore.app 0 mentions
  • SignalApp UI Home Screen but with Flutter
    Anyway, copying and reproducing is a great way to learn. It also train the mind to decompose every applications in small pieces. The same could have been done for Briar, SimpleX or Telegram applications, all of them are open-source and... - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Remote Slop with Claude Code
    In fact, as of today, Anthropic officially shipped this as Claude Code Channels — a plugin-based feature that lets you push messages from Telegram or Discord into a running Claude Code session on your machine. Your session processes the... - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Trading Bot in C# — Part 2— Notifications
    Nowadays, messaging apps are ubiquitous. It’s quite possible that at least one message from such a service just buzzed in your pocket a moment ago. So why not to send a message to a chat group where your friends or customers can act on... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago

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Tracking Textlore.app since Oct 2026.

Alternatives to Telegram and Textlore.app

When comparing Telegram and Textlore.app, you can also consider the following products.