Independent

Independent Telegram

“Privacy” itself isn’t a particularly attractive product feature in online services. It can be nebulous: We can’t always feel or understand it, and sometimes it’s only when privacy is taken away that we take it seriously. Telegram may be among the most popular messaging services in the world, yet there are still many who don’t know what it’s all about. The app is often name-dropped in discussions regarding online privacy and security, but aren’t all messaging apps secure? Don’t more popular apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger (despite their ties to Facebook) also have the fabled “end-to-end” encryption? What makes Telegram so special? This is a handy feature for users who want to save disk space. To access it, go to the “Settings”, “Data and Storage”, and then tap “Storage Usage”. You will find four options: keep media on your device for three days, one week, one month, or forever.

If you do not want this to happen and want Telegram to keep running in the background to send you notifications in real-time, you can head over to Settings/ Notifications and Sounds/ Keep Alive Service and turn it on. That’s far from saying Telegram will protect you from all privacy terrors the online world presents — you should check out our Android privacy guide for a broader look at that. Telegram just offers a good marriage of popularity and security for those with concerns over other messaging apps. Under the Other section, tap Open Links in and then choose a preferred browser from the list. Open Telegram chat

This page also lets you select your preferred night mode theme. Disabled: Turn off automatic night mode and always use the chosen theme. To enable or disable this service, go to “Settings”, “Notification and Sounds”, and swipe down to the “Other” section. You will also find a “Repeat Notifications” option, which you can select as per your convenience. Since non-secret chats and files are stored in the cloud, you can access them from any device by logging into your account. You will never have to worry about on-device storage or losing important files, but the trade-off is that you lose a bit of privacy and security.

Any user can upload large files and media, each up to 2 GB in size and enjoy unlimited storage in the Telegram Cloud for free. With Telegram Premium, subscribers will now be able to send 4 GB files – enough space for 4 hours of 1080p video, or 18 days of high-quality audio. To get going, open the Telegram app on your device. Then, head over to a chat and tap on the name of the chat at the top.