Telegram privacy features

Telegram is a very popular messaging app right now and is the most downloaded non-gaming app for January 2021 according to Sensor Tower. With 63 million downloads in January 2021 and nearly 24% coming from India, the WhatsApp alternative is feature-packed and founder Pavel Durov has been vocal multiple times about the app’s focus on user privacy.

Telegram offers a variety of features, some specifically designed to give users a greater sense of security and control over their privacy while using the app. If you’re concerned about your privacy while using Telegram, be sure to check out these 10 Telegram privacy features:

Lock Chats

Telegram’s chat locking feature is a great way to keep your chats private and secure. The lock can be bypassed with a quick PIN entry or even via your phone’s fingerprint sensor, so it’s ideal if your טלגראס בוט phone’s stock user interface doesn’t offer App Locking. To enable chat locking, just head over to the Settings/ Privacy and Security/  Pass code Lock.

Secret Chats

Telegram’s default chats are backed up by the platform’s secure cloud, meaning you can use the same account across multiple devices. However, these chats are not end-to-end encrypted because Telegram needs access to your chats in order to make them available on other devices where you have logged in.

Telegram has a great feature that lets you use secret chats with your contacts in addition to your regular chats.

Self-destructing Media

The ability to send self-destructing messages isn’t new to Telegram, but it was previously only available in the app’s Secret Chats feature.

If you’d like to send a message with a timer, open up the chat you want to send it in and select an image or video from your gallery. You will see the timer icon shaped like stopwatch in four options below the media . Here you can set a timer for how long you’d like the media to be viewable for before it expires.

Two-Step Verification

Most apps these days offer two-step verification or two-factor authorization for additional security, and Telegram is no different. Once you enable this feature, you will need to enter password every time you  try to login to Telegram from a new or old device. The password is needed in addition to the one-time password (OTP) that appears when you set up the account on a new device. This protects your account from identity theft should someone find out your password, as they would still need the password to login.

Proxy Servers

Telegram also supports proxy servers, which can be useful for hiding your IP address. This works in a similar way to a VPN connection, but it’s not as secure. However, it has the advantage of not slowing down your internet speed. To set up a proxy server, go to Settings/ Data and Storage/ Proxy Settings.