6 Hidden Telegram Features To Improve Your Chat Experience
Telegram has grown in popularity in recent weeks after people became concerned about WhatsApp's privacy policy changes. If you too have recently moved to Telegram, you will need to know some of its tips and tricks just like you know WhatsApp. So here are some hidden Telegram features for you if you are new to this messaging platform.
Hidden Telegram Features
Some of the features of Telegram that we have already mentioned in our previous articles, and you can check them out here. For more hidden features, read on!
Account to be automatically deleted
Most of the uses have flocked to Telegram for the sake of security and privacy. So here's a hidden Telegram security feature for all of those. Well, users can set up their Telegram account for automatic deletion if they are away for a while and there is no need to worry about what happens to your account even when they die.
To use this feature, go to Settings> Privacy and security> Delete my account. Now press If absent for to choose the duration. If you don't use Telegram a lot, you can choose a longer duration, otherwise it might get deleted when someone becomes less active.
Find people by location
This is another useful feature of Telegram which provides a wonderful opportunity for those who like to make new friends. The Nearby feature allows you to discover new groups and people nearby.
But in order to use this feature, these users and groups must also have this feature enabled.
Go to the Contacts tab and give it location permissions when prompted. That's all! You are now ready to make new friends and join new groups of your choice.
Slow mode
Telegram groups can add up to 200 members. So, an active group usually sees hundreds of messages per day, making it difficult to follow up on the conversation.
Fortunately, group admins have the option of slow mode which requires group members to wait a set amount of time before they can send another message.
Go to your group and tap Edit> Permissions. Here, select the duration at the bottom of the page. That's all! Now, members of your group will no longer be able to spam the group.
Custom chat background
Whatsapp recently received this feature and Telegram also has a chat background feature. Here you can set any image from your gallery as the chat background. Android users can also add effects using the editor.
As in the image above, you can choose the theme according to your preference and click on the “Change chat background” option.
Personalized private channels
You know you can create channels (public / private) on Telegram. Public channels are open and visible to all telegram users and anyone can join them. However, in private channels, only the administrator has full access.
Create a custom private channel using Telegram
- iPhone: Go to the Chats tab, click on the New message option in the upper right corner and choose the New channel option.
- Android: Go to Chats, click on the pencil icon and choose “New Channel” from the list.
- Desktop: Tap the “hamburger” menu in the top left corner and choose the New Channel option.
Record video messages
You can send recorded video messages to your contacts on Telegram unlike other apps where you can only send voice messages.
To use this option, go to this chat and click on the microphone icon. If you are the first user, you will need to allow access to click images and videos.
After clicking on the microphone option, switch to camera mode and hold the camera icon to record a video message. For easier access, drag this icon up to record the video itself. Once you are done, click on the release button. You can also preview your video message before sending it.
Bonus tip: create a poll in groups
You probably know that Telegram has some amazing group chat features. For example, you can add up to 2,00 members in a group. But did you know that you can even create a poll in Telegram groups.
Just head to any Telegram group chat and tap the attachment icon, then select Poll from the available options.
After that enter your question and your survey options. That's all. You can also change survey settings such as anonymous voting and multiple responses.
So, now you know some tips and tricks of this new messenger that you can enjoy with your friends and groups.
These are just a few hidden features of Telegram that we have mentioned, as it has several other such features. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks!
