Become a Telegram master with these 10 tips and tricks

Telegram checks only pretty much checks the boxes when it comes to a modern messaging app: it’s available on multiple platforms, offers end-to-end encryption, supports stickers and media, and allows channel and group chats that can have hundreds of thousands of people on them (if you have so many friends).

Part of the app’s appeal is that it’s so easy to set up and use – if you’ve used a messaging app before, you can use Telegram, but there are so many features and options packed into the software that you might not have come across. all of them. That’s where these tips come in.

order after yourself

Maybe you don’t want years and years of conversation to pile up inside the Telegram app, especially for chats that have very little sentimental value. The app’s auto-delete feature will delete messages once they reach a certain age, making your conversations less cluttered and adding an extra level of digital privacy.

To activate the automatic delete function in a conversation, touch the bar at the top of the chat, then choose the three dots and Enable auto delete (if you’re on iOS) or delete automatically (if you are on Android). You can choose a specific duration from the list provided by the app, or set your own with the custom option: the longest auto-delete setting is one year.

Set custom notification sounds

You can add your own audio snippets as custom notification sounds on Telegram, which can then be applied to any conversation you like. From a conversation, touch the top bar and then choose Silence (iOS) or Notifications (Android) and select personalize: Audio files and voice messages less than five seconds and up to 300 KB in size are currently supported.

Choose a default reaction that is applied with a double tap.

Telegram via David Nield

Change your default reaction

You may have noticed that you can double-tap any message in a chat to apply a default reaction, which is a thumbs up, unless you’ve changed it. To choose a different default reaction, go to the main Settings screen in the app, then choose Stickers and emojis Y quick reaction (on iOS) or chat settings Y quick reaction (on Android).

To access more reaction emoji besides the default quick reaction, you can long press a message (iOS) or tap a message (Android). In group chats and channels, it’s up to the admins whether reactions are available and which reactions can be used, so the pop-up menu may look different depending on which Telegram conversation you’re in.

Get an instant translation

If you’re chatting with someone on Telegram in another language, you can get translations of your messages within the app. On the Settings page, you need to choose Idiom and then turn the Show translate button toggle the switch on, so whenever a message arrives that isn’t written in your device’s default language, you’ll get a translate button.

Secret chats can have self-destructing messages.

Telegram via David Nield

send secret messages

By default, Telegram chats are encrypted, but they are not end-to-end encrypted (see differences here). For the most secure chats, and to avoid leaving any kind of digital trail behind you, you can switch to a secret chat mode with certain people in your contact list. This secret chat stays on a single device and exists as a separate conversation with the user.

Of contacts (in the navigation bar on iOS, in the app menu on Android), tap a user to open their list of conversations. Tap the top bar to see your profile, then the three dots, then start secret chat. These chats may also have self-destruct timers on messages; use the timer icon in the chat bar (iOS) or conversation options (Android) to set this.

Share your location with others

Telegram can help you when meeting and keeping up with friends and family: if you press the paper clip down icon in the chat input box in any conversation, you can choose Location so other people know where you are. You can also continuously share your live location with others within the same chat window for up to eight hours.

Avoid spoilers on Telegram

No one likes spoilers, whether it’s sports scores or unexpected movie endings, and Telegram comes with a feature that lets you hide messages until the recipient is ready to read them. It is particularly useful in group chats, where there may be a situation where some people are aware of what is being discussed, while other chat participants are not.

To add a spoiler layer, write a message without sending it, then select the text you want to hide. From the menu that appears, choose Revelation as format (on iOS, you must first select the format button). The selected part of the message will darken when other people view it, and they can tap on the blurry block to see the text below.

Use unlimited cloud storage

As a Telegram user, you actually get an unlimited amount of free cloud storage to share files with other people in your contact list; the only limitation is that no file can be more than 2 GB in size. To select a file from your phone within a Telegram conversation, tap the paperclip icon next to the chat input box and then select Proceedings to navigate.

Keep any saved messages you want to keep.

Telegram via David Nield

Save important messages

Telegram includes a saved messages feature that you can use for those messages that you really want to keep, perhaps an important address or a family photo. Saving a message couldn’t be much easier: from within one of your chats, long press on a specific message to select it, then choose Forward Y saved messages.

The Saved Messages folder is pinned to the top of your contact list, and is fully searchable if you dig into it; you can store anything you want here. Each item has a button next to it that lets you jump to its original location, and your saved messages are synced between all the devices you have Telegram installed on.

Customize your mute settings

For those busy group chats, muting is a vital way to keep your sanity, and Telegram gives you a lot of control over the duration of the mute. In a conversation, tap on the top bar, then choose Silence (iOS) or Notifications (Android): Then you can select mute for to choose one of the displayed options, and iPhone users can choose a particular end date if needed.

Source: www.wired.com