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New to Telegram? Tips, tricks and differences with WhatsApp that you should know
Now that WhatsApp is going through a bad time, you may be considering using other applications. Do you know everything that Telegram offers?
WhatsApp has changed its privacy policy and many people have not felt bad. Time will tell if this decision really takes its toll, but for the moment the downloads of other applications such as Telegram or Signal are growing like foam.
It is possible that you are considering changing the application or you have already opened a Telegram account, you may even try to convince your contacts to do the same.
Here at Techloging, we are going to review the strengths of this messaging tool.
Although it does not have as many users as WhatsApp, Telegram is the perfect option for a large number of people due to the multiple tools and functions that it includes and that differentiates it from the Facebook app. This application allows you to use two different mobile phones, manage chats by folders and have greater control of large groups. Here are some of its most interesting features.
Saved messages
The first interesting function that we recommend is the saved messages. With this option Telegram allows us to create a personal agenda, a chat in which only you are and to be able to save messages and files that we like.
You can also schedule messages to remind you of things you have to do or important appointments, it is a very useful function, like a drawer where you can keep all those things that you want to keep or use later.
Polls
This feature is often very successful in groups with many people. If you want to organize a party, give a gift or simply know the opinion of other people, take a survey to find out which idea is more accepted.
It can be applied to any group and can be done by administrators or any group participant with the administrator’s permission as we will see later.
Secret chats
Telegram uses an end-to-end encryption system, but its system is not the same as WhatsApp or Signal. Telegram uses the proprietary MTProto protocol, by which messages are encrypted between the client and the server, not from client to client as other apps do. This does not mean that your system is not secure, but to give users more peace of mind, Telegram has developed secret chats.
With them we make sure that our message is encrypted until reaching the other person’s phone, that is, they are encrypted from user to user and are not saved on the company’s servers. Also, these conversations cannot be forwarded to another user and they also prohibit screenshots. It is also possible to use Telegram’s self-destruct system with these messages, for text, photos, video and files, giving time for the other user to see them.
To create a secret chat, click on the home page and select New Secret Chat and then choose the contact you want to talk to. You can also go to the chat you have with that person and select this option in the top menu of points.
Find nearby people
Here Telegram offers us the possibility to connect with other people who live or are close to us. In general, it is considered a function designed to connect, but deep down it is a very interesting tool for creating neighborhood collaboration groups, for example.
In this age that we are living with constant social emergencies it can be of great help. For this we must allow Telegram to know our location. It offers us a list of contacts that are also in the area, Telegram does not share the phone number of these contacts, but their proximity to us.
When we want to disappear from this function, it is enough to deactivate Telegram’s permission to use the location of our mobile from the phone settings. This app also has the possibility of controlling who adds us to groups of chats, for greater security. (Settings> Privacy and security> Groups> My contacts> Who can add me to group chats )
Slow mode
This feature is especially intended for administrators of large groups. In these chats where many people come together, the avalanche of messages at a given moment can be overwhelming. As a solution, Telegram has given administrators more control.
As you can see in the screenshot, the administrator determines the actions that all members of the group can or cannot perform. If you want them to send surveys, videos, GIFs or add new users. Below that section is the Slow Mode where a waiting time is set between one message or another, between 10 seconds and an hour so that members do not write all at the same time and there is a certain order and calm in the chat. They write the message and the system sends them progressively.
Messages without sound
At certain times of the day, when we have a meeting or we are sleeping, it is really annoying when the phone tells us that messages are arriving. Apart from putting the mobile on silent, it is possible that the people who send those messages know that we are busy and do not want to disturb us. null
Telegram offers an option to write to our contacts without waking them up at night, for example. Silent messages block alerts, the message arrives, but the phone does not ring or vibrate. Thus, when the person is available they will see our message and will answer us without problems.
Before sending what you have written, press and hold the send button until the options to program or send without sound appear.
Schedule sending of messages
In the same way that we send chats in silence, we can schedule them. If it is not urgent, but we want to remind someone else of something, like your dental appointment at a certain time of day. It is possible to program a message by pressing and holding the send button and selecting the exact date.
This option also allows you not to send messages during the night or in meetings, so that when the person can see them and we do not forget what we wanted to tell them.
Edit sent messages
The last great feature WhatsApp doesn’t include yet is post-correction messages. In the rush, it is easy to send a message with spelling mistakes or for the autocorrect to play a trick on us. Telegram allows us to edit that message already sent.
It’s as simple as selecting the message and activating the Edit button. Once corrected, we send it again and the chat will indicate that this message has been edited so that the other participants know it, although if you are fast they may not have had time to see what you put in the first place.
