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After that, hit the More button (triple-dot icon) and choose Enable Auto-Delete in the popup menu. Next, choose the desired period of time like 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month. If you would rather want to go with a custom period of time, tap Other and then adjust the time. Furthermore, you can view how much Mobile or WiFi data you have consumed so far. Just tapping on “Data Usage”, and it will show you “Bytes sent” and “Bytes received” of individual file types. There are a lot of cool things you can do with Telegram, and we have included some of the best ones on this list. You can check out the table of contents below to get an overview of the tricks we have mentioned and jump ahead to whichever Telegram messenger trick you want to learn more about.

New icons are available that premium users can add to their Home Screen to better match their personality or wallpaper. Choose from a premium star, night sky, or turbo-plane. Telegram has a unique feature called Channels that allow you to broadcast messages to large audiences. Unlike Groups, Telegram Channels can have an unlimited amount of subscribers, and only admins have the right to post content. However, Telegram only uses this encryption in calls and in its “secret chats” feature, not in regular chats. Those are only encrypted client to server. Meanwhile, WhatsApp, the supposedly less secure service, has used end-to-end encryption in all messages, calls, and video calls since 2016. Another great option in groups or channels is being able to pin messages. Tap a message and choose Pin to keep it at the top of the chat, where everyone can easily reference it.

Polls are a feature of Telegram that work with channels and groups. They are used for a variety of things, from organizing leaderless protests to deciding where to have lunch. Plus, if you’re using the “secret chats” feature, you’re getting the same level of end-to-end encryption. On top of this, users can’t forward or screenshot messages in secret chats, and messages can be programmed to self-destruct. Deleting a message also deletes it for everyone on the service, and users have the option to delete not just their own messages, but other users’ messages, too. It’s also worth mentioning that all chats are encrypted, even if not end-to-end encrypted. Pros of switching A recently introduced feature, Telegram’s new Group Voice Chats allow users in a group to initiate a common group voice chat for all members. However, users can choose to drop out of the ongoing group chat and re-enter at any given point. To make use of this, head into any group of choice and tap on the group name. Now head to the three-dot menu on the top right and choose Start Voice Chat.

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. To edit any element’s color, tap on it and then select your desired color. Once you are done editing, tap on Save Theme and your customized theme will be saved and applied.