with these 5 tips you get the most out of the popular chat app

Telegram is one of the best-known alternatives to WhatsApp. But how does it work, and what are its features? This article tells you everything you need to know about the Telegram app.

What is Telegram and how does it work?

The messaging service Telegram has been a popular counterpart to WhatsApp for years. This is partly because the app has a lot of nice functions that you will not find in WhatsApp. In addition, the app continues to update itself regularly. Curious what you can do with it? Get the most out of Telegram with these tips.

1. Chat without phone number

With Telegram it is possible to add people without a phone number, by means of a username. You add this at ‘Settings>Set username’. After that, everyone can find you with this username. You can also easily block anyone who seeks contact in this way, so that they cannot be abused.

It is mandatory to link your phone number to the app, but you can set it so that no one sees it. It is also possible to add people nearby. To do this, tap “Find people nearby” in the Contacts tab. Here you will immediately see an overview of everyone with the Telegram app who has made themselves visible to others. Here you can also make yourself visible, so that others can add you too.

2. Silent Messages and Scheduling

Do you want to send someone a message without disturbing them? It is possible to send a silent message. Handy if you don’t need a (quick) answer and don’t want to distract the recipient. The recipient will receive a notification, but no sound will be played. To do this, type a message and long press the arrow to send it.

You will then be given two options: ‘Send without sound’ and ‘Schedule message’. Tap the first option to send a message without sound. The second option schedules the message so that Telegram sends it at the specified time.

3. Set a limit for groups

Are you bothered by all the messages that are constantly flying around your ears in the group conversation? If you’re an admin of a group conversation, you can set a limit, which requires group members to wait a certain amount of time before they can speak again.

For example, if you choose one minute, you can only send one message every minute. You set a time limit by opening the group and tapping the group name at the top. Tap Edit, then tap Permissions. Scroll down and set the limit.

4. Animated pictures: stickers, gifs and video messages

A nice feature of Telegram that you will not find with WhatsApp is the sending of moving stickers. These moving pictures have a small size, which means that they are sent faster than a photo and move in a fluid way.

Another way to send moving pictures is of course sending gifs. The gif search is very easy: type ‘@gif’ with your keyword in the send box. Then you get a pop-up menu of all kinds of relevant gifs.

Be careful, because as soon as you click on one you have sent it immediately. Video messages are also an option in Telegram. You send this by tapping the microphone. A camera icon will then appear, which you can long-press, just like with audio messages, to record a video message.

5. Secret chat and disappearing photos

Another interesting feature is the secret chat. Normally your messages are sent through a server. Although these are kept encrypted, it is also possible to send a message from user to user, without an intermediate server.

To do this, open a chat conversation, tap the person’s name at the top and press the button with the three dots. Choose ‘Start secret chat’ and confirm with ‘Start’. Tap the clock in your send box to set a time limit, after which your message will self-destruct. In this way it is also possible to exchange photos that also self-destruct after a few seconds.

Knowing more?

Do you want to know more? In your settings you will see ‘Frequently asked questions’ at the bottom. If your question is not listed, you can also ask the developers a question. This will redirect you to a bot that will either direct you to the answer or have a Telegram volunteer answer your question.

Curious about other tips? on iPhoned we regularly share practical tips about apps. For example, we do not provide tips for the navigation app Flitsmeister and we explain how you can get everything out of the Weeronline app.