Telegram: These are the functions you should know

Telegram is one of the modern messengers whose functions are constantly being improved. If you want to use the tool to communicate with your friends, family, colleagues or customers, there are still a lot of things to discover.

Telegram features: An overview

If you use Telegram, many of the messenger’s functions are available to you. You might like the following selection:

• Edit message: If you send a message and only realise afterwards that you mistyped it, you can change the mistake. Hold your finger on the message until a context menu appears. Select “Edit”. Change the text and confirm with the blue tick.

• Photo quality: Messengers usually compress all photos. This is noticeable in poor photo quality. To be able to send a photo in good quality via Telegram, open the chat to which you want to send the photo. Tap on the paper clip and select “File”, then select a picture or video. Click “Send” to send the photo in its original quality.

• Secret chat: Secret chats are encrypted end-to-end and are not stored on the Telegram servers. The messages also cannot be forwarded to other users. To start a secret chat via Android, open Telegram and tap on the pencil icon. Go to “New secret chat” and select the person you want to have a secret chat with. To change an existing chat into a secret chat, tap on the person’s profile picture and go to the three dots. Select “Start secret chat”.

• Using an iOS device, select the person you want to chat with from Telegram’s contact list. Tap the three dots and select “Start secret chat ☻ Start. “

• Schedule message: For example, to send birthday greetings at a specific time, type the message as usual. Hold down the send arrow with your finger. In the menu field, select “Schedule message”. Select the date and time you want to send the message.

More features of Telegram

If you don’t want to give out your number but want to communicate with people nearby, send silent messages or prevent yourself from being added to groups, you should also be aware of the following features of the messenger:

• Silent message: If your chat partner is at work or cannot be disturbed, you can use the silent message function. To do this, type the text as usual. Hold your finger on the blue send arrow. Go to “Schedule message ☻ Send without sound”.

• Prevent being added to groups: If you are tired of being added to groups, you can prevent it. Open the app and go to the settings. Tap on “Privacy and security ☻ Groups”. A new menu will open. Here, under “Who can add me”, select “My contacts” and under “Exceptions”, select “Never allow” the contacts you do not want to be invited to chat with.

• Chatting without a phone number: If you want to chat with people who are nearby without revealing your number, you can do so. Open Telegram and go to Contacts. Tap on “Find people nearby”. Now you need to allow your phone to access your location so that the app can show people who are nearby. They will then appear in a list.

• Multiple accounts: You are not tied to one account on Telegram. On Android, create a second account by tapping on the three dots. Go to “Add account”. Select your country and a phone number to create another account.

• For an iOS device, go to the “Settings ☻ Edit ☻ Add another account”. Enter the phone number and confirm with “Done”.