𝙷𝙰𝙼𝚉𝙰𝚆𝙴

In Telegram, you can use hashtags in your Channels and Groups. When you use a hashtag in a message, that word becomes clickable. And, channel or group users able to click the hashtag to get instant search results from their Telegram messages. Telegram allows you to manage the device storage: you can choose to delete media (photos, videos, and other files) shared on the app. All files will be deleted from your device after the specified duration, but they will stay in the Telegram cloud forever, so you can re-download them when you need them again. There is also an option to delete the cache and local database. On the same page, Telegram also lists one of its two tenets of internet privacy as “protecting your personal data from third parties, such as marketers, advertisers, etc.” That puts it in stark contrast to a myriad of services from Facebook, Google, Amazon, and others.

Admins can reach out to users who want to join and have a chat to cover the rules, make sure they're a good fit or even plan a welcome party. When an admin reaches out, Telegram lets the user know they're reaching out as a group admin. Even better, thanks to Cloud Themes, you can share your custom themes (or try themes created by others) using a link. If the owner updates the theme, everyone using it through that link will see the changes. Long-press on a theme and choose Share to make it available to others. The platform offers three kinds of polls: Do you know that Telegram offers a handful of readymade app icons so that you can change the look of the icon depending on your home screen layout? Ever since I stumbled upon this hidden Telegram hack, I have been using it to amp up the home screen customization game. If you are also in the same boat, you would find it pretty cool as well.

With the latest updates, Telegram also allows users to have multiple accounts. This is great for people like me who like to keep their work and personal accounts separate. To add a new account, tap on the arrow beside your name and tap on Add Account. The reason for this is Telegram’s enhanced use of the cloud. Essentially, it stores all of your messages and photos on a secure server. This means you can access them from any connected device, making Telegram much more multi-platform friendly than other chat apps like WhatsApp. So, if you want to create different chat folders on Telegram for your use case then follow along. Open the hamburger menu and move to Settings -> Folders. Here, tap on “Create New Folder” and give a name like personal, work, fun, unread, etc. After that, add the chats that you would like to appear in this folder. Similarly, you can add the kinds of chats that you don’t want to be grouped under this folder. This way Telegram will learn your preferences. Now, the main screen will move to a tabbed UI making it easier to use and manage Telegram. How awesome is that? This kind of feature can make conversations more orderly while increasing the value of each individual message. You can enable this option from the “Group Permission” section. Keep it on forever, or toggle as necessary to throttle rush hour traffic.

To adjust the theme, go to Settings > Chat Settings on Android, or Settings > Appearance on iOS. Here you can change the text size, bubble colors, night mode settings, and similar options. Choose Chat Background to set a new wallpaper for your groups. Possibly the biggest disadvantage Telegram has over more popular messages is simply that: popularity. Despite its hundreds of millions of fans, Telegram is still leagues behind WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat in active monthly users.