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While WhatsApp remains the king of instant messaging in terms of sheer user base, Telegram is one of its main competitors and for good reason. The app offers speed, security, and simplicity, and is a strong WhatsApp alternative. Whether its due to WhatsApp being a Meta-owned company, or the privacy policy updates, or anything else, a lot of users have switched to Telegram over the last few years. If you’re on of them, here are 35 cool Telegram tricks to let you make the most out of the messaging app. Telegram lacks the Stories feature of some competing messaging apps which lets you post images or short videos without messaging a contact directly. Admittedly it isn’t an essential feature for most people. 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.

Telegram gives you an option where you can select who can see your last seen time. To configure this, go to “Settings”, “Privacy and Security” and then tap on “Last Seen & Online”. You can share it with everybody, or people in your contact list, or nobody, or add exceptions like “never share with” XYZ. You can choose to share either your current or your live location. Send My Current Location will provide a one-time update about where you are. As you can see in the below image, the app lets you manually change this before sending, so don't trust locations blindly. In addition to manually selecting a point on the map, you can choose a nearby place from a list. Edit and replace pictures while sending The profile videos of premium users will animate for everyone throughout the app – including in chats and the chat list. Let everyone see your new look, or flex your creativity with a unique looping animation.

Utilize Telegram Bots New user announcement While it’s great to set a nice profile and win praise from your friends and loved ones, there are times when you might want to hide your profile from certain people. Fortunately, Telegram offers you the needed control over the visibility of your profile. To get started, open the Telegram app. Next, go to Settings and choose Appearance.

Search Friends by Username You don’t need a separate image/video editor to make your photos/videos more compelling. You can do it right in the telegram app using its intuitive interface.