Telegram is a messaging app with a great set of features. Telegram boasts the functionality of being cross-platform and hence there is a separate application available for all types of devices and operating systems. Be it your Windows PC, Mac OS, Linux, Android, Windows Phone, or any other platform, Telegram’s got one for you. Features like messaging encryption, private chats, and open API makes the messaging app really useful and desirable.
A little background
I got hold of Telegram when I faced an issue with the other most popular messaging app ‘WhatsApp’. I wanted to use ‘WhatsApp’ on my laptop, and the only solution that hit my mind was the Web Version of WhatsApp but that again was problematic as it required both the devices to be connected to the internet and that was not possible in my case as my college internet account is only limited to one device per user, so that was the time I made a partial transition to Telegram.
Telegram Messenger app review
Telegram is a free cross-platform Messaging App that allows you to send self-destructing, encrypted messages across multiple devices, securely.
Telegram comes with a lot of amazing features that cannot be found anywhere in other similar messaging apps. The application is completely cloud-based, and all your chats and media files are stored in the cloud and can be accessed from anywhere. Like all other messaging apps out there, you need to log in through your mobile number and once you’ve created a Telegram account, you can use the same mobile number to login to other devices.
Another remarkable feature of the application is larger group size, instead of the usual 256 membered WhatsApp group, you can create a group of at most 5000 members which is practically unlimited and can be utilized in a better way if you want groups with a larger number of users.
With Telegram, you can send almost any type of file format. There are no restrictions to file formats and the maximum file size limit is set to 1.5 GB which is again practically a lot. There is also a secret mode available that lets you chat with a friend secretly. The secret mode offers end to end encryption, self-deleting messages, restricted forwarding of messages, and a whole bunch of features. The secret mode is currently unavailable on the desktop version of the application but can be accessed through the mobile application.
Telegram offers its API to developers for free. There are currently two APIs available BOT API and Telegram API which can be differently used to build applications based on Telegram’s functionality.
Other features include chat background, emoticons, audio messages, notification tones, and all other general features that a messaging application must-have. For more security, you can even enable local passcodes so that no one without the password can access the application on a device.
Telegram is also available for Mobile Phone and all the features mentioned above can be accessed simultaneously from mobile devices. For all other devices which do not have Telegram installed, a web-based version of the application is also available and can be easily accessed from anywhere around the globe.
Read: How to move WhatsApp Group Chats to Telegram app?
Overall, a great messaging app with amazing features. The only problem you could face is the lack of users. Many people use the application, and it is harder to find your contacts on this network. But if that’s not an issue for you, the application can potentially replace other messaging applications. The synchronization between devices, security, and privacy features make Telegram one of the best applications out there.
Click here to download Telegram.
Is Telegram an encrypted messaging app?
Yes, unlike some other apps, Telegram is an encrypted messaging app that you can install and use on mobile as well as PC. However, they provide an optional end-to-end encryption so that other users or ISPs cannot access your data in any way. No matter which device you use it on, you can find the same security policies across all devices.
Are Telegram messages end-to-end encrypted?
As said earlier, Telegram offers optional end-to-end encryption for users. Having said that, your cloud storage messages and group are fully encrypted so that they become inaccessible. No matter whether you send images, texts, links, or anything else, everything is encrypted on Telegram.
That’s all! Happy messaging.
Read more: Telegram app Tips and Tricks.
The major issue with Telegram is its security (or, rather, lack thereof). Even WhatsApp is more secure these days. (If you want real security, you’d have to use a messenger like Signal or Threema, of course.)