Every major platform solves one problem. VELA solves them all — without compromising privacy, compliance, or global reach.
| Feature | VELA | Telegram | Discord | Signal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Privacy | |||||
| E2E Encryption (default) | ✓ | ✓ | Groups only | ✗ | ✓ |
| P2P Architecture | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| No Phone Number Required | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Zero Metadata Collection | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Minimal |
| Visibility Control (Ghost Mode) | ✓ | Basic | Basic | Basic | ✗ |
| Communication | |||||
| Auto Translation (50+ languages) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| On-Device Translation (private) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Voice & Video Calls | Phase 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Group Chats | Phase 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Large File Transfer (2GB+) | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | 100MB | ✗ |
| Discovery | |||||
| Global People Search | ✓ | ✗ | Username | Username | ✗ |
| Product & Service Listings | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Category / Location Filters | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Granular Visibility Per Category | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Compliance & Commerce | |||||
| Jurisdiction-Aware KYC | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Compliant Marketplace | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Native Token / Rewards | ✓ | ✗ | TON | ✗ | ✗ |
| No Ads, Ever | ✓ | ✗ | Some | Some | ✓ |
| Open Source | Planned | ✗ | Client | ✗ | ✓ |
3 billion people use WhatsApp but cannot discover strangers, cannot trade across borders, cannot speak across languages, and cannot trust that their data is safe. VELA solves all four.
Telegram's lack of default E2E encryption and regulatory grey areas create real risk for users and regulators. VELA is private by architecture and compliant by design.
Discord's server model is powerful for gaming communities but inaccessible to mainstream users, businesses, and global commerce. VELA speaks to the other 7 billion.
Signal is the gold standard for encryption but offers no discovery, no marketplace, no translation, and no token economy. Security alone isn't a growth strategy.