Introducing TeleGuard - Safe. Secured. Amazing.

Hello everybody,

I am happy to announce that we can finally introduce our Messenger: TeleGuard! We worked on it for a long time and of course we hope that you like it and that it meets your expectations.

We started development about two years ago and were now able to start in January. At the same time, WhatsApp announced its new privacy policy. Especially abroad, this drives WhatsApp users into the hands of the competitors - and rightly so. Although it is generally known that Facebook's business model is trading in data, the new “data protection” regulations intrude deeper into the privacy of users than ever before.

Personally, I am very happy about this “wake-up call”. If data protection was still a foreign word in the minds of smartphone users back then, a few things have come to light since Snowden.

The Swisscows team works indispensably to offer its users data protection and added value through its various services, be it the data-secure search engine, enterprise search, VPN services or new in the arsenal: TeleGuard.

TeleGuard differs from other messenger services in the following points: The most important point is data protection. Well, I know that just about every messenger claims to be secure. Even WhatsApp promises its users complete end-to-end encryption. Due to the many uses of the term, it appears that data protection is standard. Well, unfortunately this is not the case. States like America, Russia and China in particular are more interested than anything else in analyzing people's data. The data protection laws in the countries listed are mostly weak and obscure. And so we come to another important point: TeleGuard uses Switzerland as a location. All servers are in Switzerland, with the strictest data protection laws. In addition, TeleGuard does not use any cloud or hosting services from other providers.

Swisscows has made it its business to protect the privacy of its users. The Messenger TeleGuard can therefore be used without providing personal data. Information on personal data such as telephone number or email address is not required for using the app.

The participant is identified exclusively via a 9-digit ID or a QR code and is not tied to a telephone number. The TeleGuard ID is a very personal identification number that the user needs in order to connect with friends. The ID is a telephone number substitute, but completely anonymous, even for the provider Swisscows. A friend is actively added through a request that needs to be confirmed. Messenger TeleGuard never accesses the user's phone book; groups are only managed on the end devices involved.

In addition, transmitted messages are not stored on Swisscows servers, but are deleted from the servers after they are received on the recipient's device. Since neither personal data nor private messages are stored, they cannot fall into the wrong hands in the event of an attempted hacker attack.

But if we don't sell data, how does TeleGuard finance itself? An important question, after all, TeleGuard also has to raise funds in order to be a decent business model. TeleGuard is currently 100% financed by Swisscows, but this will change in the future. Swisscows will activate services in the next few months that can be subscribed to for a fee, such as video conferences with several people, business solutions for companies, etc. So the business model is not selling data, but selling services.

The TeleGuard app has been online for a little more than a week now, of course we have received tons of feedback, for which I would like to thank you again. For us, too, this project is something completely new and exciting. Some bugs have already been fixed, some not yet. With the upcoming updates we will gradually fix all bugs and errors in order to create a perfect chat experience. We have received some good ideas and suggestions from our loyal users, which we discuss and try to implement on a daily basis. We know that this is only the first step and that there is still a way to go. Therefore, on behalf of the entire team, I would like to thank all users - for your support and your congratulations.