With Telegram, you can create group chats with up to 200,000 people so you can stay connected with everyone at once. Plus, you can share videos up to 2GB, send multiple photos from the web, and forward any media you receive in an instant.
All messages are in the cloud, so you can access them from any of your devices. Telegram secret chats offer end-to-end encryption. Telegram became one of the top-5 downloaded apps worldwide in 2024 and now has over 700 million monthly active users.
What's the difference between Telegram groups and channels?
- Telegram groups are ideal for sharing stuff with friends and family, or collaboration in teams of up to 200,000 members. These groups can be public or private and you can assign several administrators.
- Channels are for broadcasting messages to large audiences. These channels can have an unlimited number of subscribers. All the messages sent in a channel have a view counter that gets updated when the message is viewed, including its forwarded copies.
Can I use Telegram on my phone and PC at the same time?
You can use Telegram on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iPhone/iOS devices. You can log in to Telegram from as many of your devices as you like, all at the same time. Since it is cloud-based, all your chats will sync instantly.
Is Telegram better than WhatsApp?
Telegram stores all your messages in the cloud with seamless sync, meaning you can access your messages from several devices at once, and share an unlimited number of photos, videos and files of up to 2 GB each. This is a key differentiator between the two platforms.
WhatsApp, on the other hand, stores messages and all data on your device and lets you backup conversations on Google Drive or iCloud. New versions of WhatsApp allow for PC desktop clients to be connected even if your mobile device is offline.
Security-wise, WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption as the default for all private communication, this includes messages and calls, group and one-on-one chats as well as any photos or files you send. However, WhatsApp is owned by Facebook which makes many wonder about privacy.
Telegram uses end-to-end encryption on video and voice calls by default, however texts and file sharing do not. Telegram's default messaging is only encrypted between the sender and Telegram servers. In a one-on-one conversation using Telegram, you can initiate a "secret chat" that is encrypted. These secret chats are not stored in Telegram's cloud.
All in all, both Telegram and WhatsApp are robust messaging platforms. Telegram is more open to customization and less restrictive in terms of features and ways you can use it, while WhatsApp is a strong contender that may be more mainstream in some regions. If you need fully secure messaging though, you may be better off checking out Signal.
Can I make video calls on Telegram?
Yes, you can make free voice and video calls on Telegram.
Unsend Messages
We hope everybody had a great celebration. We at Telegram certainly did. One of our engineers got so excited about the new year that he mistakenly shared awful stickers with his Mom. To fix this, he quickly added a way to unsend recently sent messages. This smart move saved his morning, and it can still save yours! If you use Telegram v.3.16 or later, you can now unsend any weird messages you shared within the last 48 hours.
Shareable Chat Folders
Chat folders can now be shared with a link - inviting your friends or colleagues to dozens of work groups, collections of news channels, and more. With one tap, they will add the folder and instantly join all its chats. Each chat folder supports multiple invite links allowing access to different chats. When creating a link, select the chats you'd like to include - and give it a unique name to match, like Interns or Managers. If you add more chats to your folder and update its link, members will see a suggestion to join the new chats.
What's New
- Windows version updated to 5.1.5
- macOS version updated to 10.13.1
- Android updated to 10.13.4
Message Effects, Hashtag Search, and More
With this update, you can add spectacular animated effects to messages you send, move captions above media, find public posts using global hashtags, hide fragments of text with collapsible quote blocks – and more.
Message Effects
Messages in 1-on-1 chats can now be sent with animated effects that play when the recipient opens the chat. Nothing says 'I Love You' like a screen covered in kisses , or flames , or something else altogether .
Everyone can use 6 free effects, while Telegram Premium unlocks hundreds more – including all the effects from Premium stickers.
To add an effect, simply press and hold the Send arrow and pick the emotion that matches your message. From the same menu, you can schedule a message or send it silently.
Captions Above Media
Captions can now be moved above media so that illustrations for your posts and meme punchlines know their place.
To do this, select media in your attachment menu, then type a caption into the input field that appears, press and hold the Send arrow, and select 'Move Caption Up' to change its position.
You can also edit media or albums to move their captions up or down – simply edit the message, press and hold the Save button and select 'Move Caption Up'.
Quick Actions for Phone Numbers
Tapping a phone number in a chat opens a redesigned menu – with options to send a message, start a call, or add the number as a contact with just one more tap.
Hashtag Search
Since 2015, you can use hashtags to easily search for #important messages (or #cats) across your chats.
With today's update, hashtags become global. Tapping a hashtag in any chat also shows search results from big public channels – letting you quickly find breaking #news from channels or scroll through #travel videos.
When browsing the 'Public Posts' tab, you can choose to view them as a scrollable feed of posts or as a compact list.
Global hashtag search only includes messages from big public channels. Messages from private chats are never shown.
Collapsible Quotes
People like to read short texts – so much that we're surprised you've read this far!
You can now make your messages more compact by hiding fragments of text inside collapsible quote blocks.
Simply add quote formatting and tap the collapse button in the input field. Your readers will be able to expand and read the quote – or scroll a lot less to skip it.
Colorful Calls on macOS
Last December, we added dynamic backgrounds and stylish animations to voice and video calls on Android and iOS. Now those same interface updates are available for users of our native macOS app – making desktop calls more beautiful while using fewer resources than before.
Microsoft Copilot for Telegram
Copilot is a personal generative AI assistant powered by GPT model and Bing Search, available within Telegram. Copilot for Telegram uses natural language to provide responses on a range of topics, from seeking knowledge to travel tips to sports updates to movie recommendations. Let Copilot enhance your Telegram experience with its quick-witted assistance and endless curiosity.
You can use Copilot on Telegram desktop & mobile app or on Telegram web.
If you already have Telegram app on your device or are already signed into Telegram web on your browser, click on this link to start interacting with Copilot. You can download & sign into Telegram app or sign into your Telegram web account and then click on this link to start interacting with Copilot.
Alternatively, you can search for Copilot by typing @CopilotOfficialBot in the search bar within Telegram.
Copilot enhances your Telegram experience by unlocking the power of internet and AI. Here are some examples:
- Information Search: Ask Copilot, to get comprehensive answers on quick facts or detailed research powered by Bing Search.
- Travel Planning: Dreaming of your next vacation? Copilot can suggest destinations and even help plan your itinerary.
- Fitness Guidance: Want to start a new workout routine? Copilot can provide fitness tips and exercise plans.
- Entertainment Updates: Curious about the latest movies or music? Copilot keeps you in the loop with entertainment news and recommendations.
- Leisure & Laughs: Need a quick chuckle or a way to relax? Copilot can tell you a joke, share a funny gif, or suggest a casual game to unwind.
- Copilot beta for Telegram currently supports only text chat requests.
How do I interact with Copilot on Telegram?
Simply type in your question, instruction or thought like you would do in any 1-1 chat, and let Copilot provide you with answers, suggestions, and more.
Previous Release Notes:
This month we've added more than 15 new features, including recommended channels, a way to view your own profile and display your channel and birthday on your page, improved moderation tools for group admins – and much more.
Recommended Channels
The search interface has a new 'Channels' tab that shows the channels you follow. The tab also has a list of recommended channels with similar topics where you can discover new content creators.
When viewing posts from a channel, you can pull up to jump to the next unread channel in your list. After hopping through all your channels, you can keep scrolling to browse recommended channels.
My Profile
Your Settings now have a 'My Profile' section that allows you to view your profile as it appears to other users – and quickly edit or change any information.
You can now pin up to 3 stories to the top of your profile page – to showcase your achievements or make sure nobody misses that cat in a suit you met in an elevator.
Birthdays
Anyone can choose to add their birthday to their profile – letting all their contacts know when to bring gifts. On your birthday, anyone who visits your profile will be greeted with animated confetti and plenty of balloons.
When it's someone else's birthday, a banner appears in your chat list – so you won't forget to congratulate them. Don't worry if you forgot their gift, you can tap the banner to quickly send a subscription to Telegram Premium.
Channels on Your Profile
If you own a channel, you can now add it to your profile page. This places a detailed preview of the latest post above your bio – sending visitors to your personal project, online portfolio or company blog in one tap.
Collectibles on Your Profile
Owners of collectible usernames can link them to their Telegram account or channels – listing the extra names on the profile page.
Tapping a collectible username or anonymous number on someone's profile now pulls up extra info about the collectible – like when it was acquired and for how much.
Share Location Indefinitely
When meeting up with friends or taking a trip, you can share your live location with individual users or entire group chats. This lets others follow your journey – or even set an alert for when you arrive.
Now you can add more time to an existing shared location. And if you want friends and family to keep track of your movements for extended periods, there is a new option to share your location with them indefinitely, until you turn it off.
Reaction Notification Settings
We've added new settings that let you control notifications for reactions to your messages.
This update also introduces notifications about reactions to your stories, so you will never miss a heart again. (Or a flame. Or a thumbs up. Or a… pigeon? Whatever that means.)
Profile Pictures in Forwarded Messages
Forwarded messages now show the profile picture of the user from whom they were forwarded. This makes them more recognizable in the chat – and makes it easier to read forwarded conversations with multiple authors.
If you limit who can link back to your account when forwarding, your profile picture will not appear on messages forwarded from you.
Animated Emoji in Polls
Premium users can now include animated and custom emoji in polls. At long last, democracy can help decide whether animated ducks are better than static cats.
Mass Moderation for Groups
Group admins can now select several messages and perform multiple moderation actions at the same time – in a new menu with individual toggles for each user and action to maximize efficiency.
The menu also has options to restrict user permissions instead of banning them from the community right away.
Improved Recent Actions
The Recent Actions section lets group admins view notable events that took place in the chat in the past 48 hours, like deleted or edited messages and admin activity.
With this update, recent actions are now more compact, with similar actions by the same admin grouped together. Admins can also see replies and to which topics recent action messages belong.
Reaction Management for Channels
Channel admins now have an extra way to manage reactions – selecting a maximum number of reaction types each post can have to keep things tidy.
Unhide Ads
By default, subscribing to Telegram Premium hides ads in channels. If you wish to still see them – either to check your own ads or help channels earn rewards, there is a new toggle to show sponsored messages in Settings > Telegram Business.
Open Stories Anonymously
While viewing stories, Premium users can activate Stealth Mode in the story menu to hide their recent views and continue hiding views for the next 25 minutes.
Now you can also activate Stealth Mode from the chat list – simply press and hold a story in your feed and select 'View Anonymously'. This opens the story without adding you to the list of viewers even for a second, and also turns on Stealth Mode.
