is a relatively new messenger from developer Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai. In this case, the main emphasis is on the anonymity of correspondence and ease of use of the messenger. Telegram’s policies have already caused scandals several times with state security agencies in Iraq, Russia, China and some other countries. But despite this, the messenger is constantly acquiring new users and functions.

Features of Telegram

The correspondence application was released in 2013 and from this year began active promotion, initially in the foreign market, and then in the domestic market. Telegram is fully open source, which allows third-party developers to modify the messenger. Also, anyone can “borrow” pieces of code from Telegram for free for their own projects.

Despite the policy of openness and lack of advertising (new users come through word of mouth), the messenger has become one of the most popular and safe. So far no one has been able to hack and view the correspondence. Telegram also received good PR for refusing to give access keys to view user correspondence to the intelligence services of some states.

In addition to the high level of anonymity and security, users are attracted by the wide functionality of the messenger, the presence of a large number free features and capabilities, as well as constant updating of the application, which is why it is beginning to look more and more like a social network.

Let's take a closer look at all the features of Telegram.

Interface

Initially, it did not provide for the presence of the Russian language, but with latest updates applications for smartphones, PCs and the web version of the messenger were completely Russified. The interface itself may change slightly depending on which device this version of the application is developed for, but the basic principles of the interface remain the same.

On the main screen you always see all chats. To access other functions, settings and data regarding your account, you need to move the “curtain” on your smartphone, or click on the icon in the form of three bars in the computer and web versions. The interface is as simple as possible and will be understandable even to a not very advanced user.

Data transfer

In addition to regular text messages, you can transfer other information - archives, videos, music, documents. There are practically no restrictions on the transfer of information, except that you cannot send a file weighing more than 1.5 GB at a time. No restrictions on data transfer and mobile devices, the only exception can be only if in operating system some restriction has already been set by default or by the user himself.

All data, including files from correspondence, are stored on special Telegram servers, which ensures their security, as well as high speed of sending, downloading, and opening in the messenger itself.

Maintaining correspondence and channels

Do not forget that the main function of any messenger is the ability to conduct correspondence. In addition to quickly sending messages and files as attachments, Telegram provides advanced chat options.

You can send stickers, the sets of which are constantly replenished, record audio messages, and also conduct a dialogue with big amount people in one chat (up to 5000 people). Additionally, you can maintain channels. In this case, the number of audiences subscribed to the channel (chat) becomes unlimited, but subscribers cannot write to you in the channel chat.

The ability to add a particular contact/group of contacts to the “Black List” has been implemented. The one you added to the emergency situation will only know about it when he tries to write you a message. If you wish, you can “get” any contact from your “Black List”.

Privacy, security and anonymity

A distinctive feature of Telegram is its emphasis on the anonymity, privacy and security of messenger users. In addition to the fact that all your correspondence is protected by a special encryption that protects them from being read by third parties (even developers cannot read them), you can make your profile in the messenger completely anonymous.

Even if you indicated all the contacts in your profile, set the main photo, wrote other information about yourself, then all this can be hidden from other users. You can hide information both from all users and from individual contacts.

Security and anonymity in addition special system encryption and additional settings Privacy is also ensured by the self-removal function. The essence of the function is to certain time, specified by the user, or set by default, delete all correspondence data with a contact or group chat. It is worth considering that in this case, messages and files are deleted from both the sender and the recipient(s). Data also does not stay on servers for long, so if someone needs to access it, it will be impossible.

On the other hand, increased secrecy and security measures have attracted attention to the messenger from the intelligence services of various countries, which has provoked several scandals. This can also have a negative impact on users in the sense that if a message with valuable information was deleted by mistake and was not restored within the first few seconds, then the information in it will be lost forever.

Bots

Telegram’s “feature” is its bots, which help users in the early stages of registration and familiarization with the interface. In addition to standard bots, users can create their own, and their functionality is not limited in any way.

Bots can be used for different tasks– conducting surveys in chats, creating stickers, distributing stickers or other items, sending out news, replacing communication with a real person, etc. Thanks to this feature, Telegram has gained fans from developers of neural networks, bots, AI, as well as some companies that are actively implementing virtual assistants to its staff.

Telegram has a great future - it is constantly releasing new updates to make using the messenger more convenient and secure.

Ksenia Vilinskaya

New opportunities for promotion, communication with the team and clients. Public channels. Secret chats. Supergroups. Work from any device. All this is about Telegram.

Features and capabilities

Telegram, an application from Pavel and Nikolai Durov, appeared in 2013. And it began to quickly gain popularity. It’s interesting that the creators of the messenger did not (and are not going to spend) money on advertising and attracting users: new participants come through word of mouth. What attracts them and makes them stick around? A simple and convenient interface, wide functionality, high data transfer speed and operational safety.

It has a policy of complete openness: the protocol, API and source code of the application are freely available. This means that anyone can see how everything works and use the data to develop their own projects.

Pros and cons of the messenger

Telegram, at first glance, is similar to other instant messengers - WhatsApp, Viber, Line. Correspondence, exchange of photos and videos - everything is like everyone else. But, unlike its competitors, Telegram offers a number of advantages that you will definitely appreciate.

• Transfer files of any format - RAR archive, tables in Excel, instructions in PDF, MP3 and video. File size is limited to 1.5 GB.
• Cloud storage data.
• Synchronization with devices. The messenger works on IPhone, Android, WindowsPhone. There are online and desktop versions. In addition, you can log in from several devices at once: the number of simultaneous sessions is unlimited.
• Instant delivery of messages and files. No glitches or freezes.
• Creation of large chats – up to 5000 participants.
• Safety. Pavel and Nikolai Durov promised a reward of $200,000 to anyone who could crack the code and read their correspondence. So far no one has managed to do this.
• And also to the question of safety. You can set up self-deletion of messages and account. And also - conduct confidential conversations without fear: each message self-destructs after reading by the interlocutor.

Let's go through the cons. There are very few of them.

• The menu is in English, and the list of languages ​​initially does not include Russian. But the problem is quickly solved with the help of a bot.
• Calls and video calling are not available yet.

Registration in Telegram

To get started with Telegram, find the application in the required store (in our case it will be Google Play), download and install on your smartphone or tablet.

Launch the application.

Wait for an SMS with a code.

Fill in your credentials.

Registration is completed. Now let's get acquainted with the messenger: to do this you need to go to the main menu.

The main menu opens.

Let's continue our acquaintance with Telegram. But first, let’s Russify the interface.

Russification

Enter in search bar "telerobot". We need Robot Anton.

Enter the command “locate android”. For IOS users the command changes to “locate ios”, for Windows – on “locate windows”.

To which the bot instantly sends a file with localization. Download.

Now the localization file needs to be applied. It will take you a couple of clicks.

Select the second item.

A list opens - Russian has appeared in the list of languages.

Return to the main menu page.

We send rays of gratitude to Robot Anton and continue our acquaintance with Telegram.

How to invite other users

From the main menu, select “Invite Friends.”

Click on “Contacts” - in the list of contacts that opens you will see those who are already connected to the messenger.

Select any user from the list - a correspondence window will open. You can start communicating.

Settings

Go to the “Settings” tab in the main menu.

Here you can change your number, set a username and add a profile photo.

Come up with a nickname by which users can find you in searches. If you leave the field blank, you can only be found by your phone number.

In addition, you can customize notification sound, security, chat background and language.

In the “Privacy and Security” tab there is a function called Self-Destruction of Account. If you have not logged into your account during the selected period (1 month, 3 months, six months, a year), then the account with all data and correspondence will completely disappear.

To avoid clogging up your device's memory, limit the storage period for media files. After the expiration date, the cache will be automatically cleared. All files will remain on the cloud, and you can download them again if you wish.

You can ask questions about the messenger and read the FAQ in the “Support” section.

Do you want to change your name or log out? Click on the icon on the right top corner and select the desired item.

Public channel

Each messenger user can create their own channel. It is important to understand that a channel is not a chat or a group. Commenting is disabled - subscribers will only be able to read you and share publications on their channel or in chats.

Create a channel

Go to the menu and select “Create Channel”.

Come up with a name for the channel and add a description. The latter is not necessary, but if you are creating a channel for the purpose of promotion, then it is better to create a capacious but informative description that reflects the essence of the channel.

You can add your first subscribers from your contact list or skip this step by clicking on the checkmark.

The channel has been created. Now you can write posts and send voice messages. Add media files and documents by clicking the paperclip icon.

To edit channel settings, click on the line with the name and photo.

On the page that opens, you can set up notifications and sound, view shared photos and videos (all media files and links that you posted on the channel), view the list of participants, and assign an administrator.

Add a channel profile photo.

How to promote your channel

Let them talk about you, or rather, write about you. Agree on PR with a user with a large audience. Mentioning your channel or reposting a good publication is a great way to attract new subscribers.

Groups (chat rooms)

Create a chat in Telegram to communicate with your audience, share files, conduct polls and discussions.

Open the menu and click “New Group”.

Select members from your contacts list. Click the check mark.

Enter the name of the group.

The group is ready. Each participant can add messages and send files.

Changing group parameters is simple - click on its name.

Here you can assign administrators from the participants, change the name, add a group photo, delete the group, or add a shortcut to the desktop of your device. Another cool feature is to convert a group into a supergroup. This is relevant if there are more than 200 participants: a supergroup includes up to 5000 users.

Add new members.

Managing channels and groups

All channels and groups you have joined appear on home page applications. Here you can see unread posts and messages.

However, notifications can be turned off.

Look for interesting channels and groups. Enter the name into the search.

Several hacks for convenient communication and channel management

Place mentions.

Just type the character @ and select the person to contact.

Select a user from your contacts.

You can also mention channels and groups.

Add hashtags using the # symbol.

Searching by hashtags, by the way, is not particularly convenient here: it does not display a selection of posts with the typed tag, but only highlights the hashtag in blue and shows the number of posts with it. All the same, we will have to scroll through and look for posts with a shaded tag among other publications.

Post voluminous texts It’s more convenient with a webogram or desktop version. Type or paste text into the message area and click Send.

To delete post, forward or edit, click on it. A menu will appear.

You can repost any post to your channel or chat. And also see the number of views of each entry on the public channel.

Find necessary information on a channel or in a group via search.

It's a pity that there is no way to find a post by date. To read earlier publications, you will have to scroll up the feed for a long time.

Shorten your links. I like the https://goo.gl/ service: it makes links more visually attractive and provides the ability to track and analyze the number of transitions and the geography of traffic.

Audio in a group or on a channel you can listen in the background.

You can find the photo you need on the Internet directly from the messenger and send to a channel or chat. Select “Gallery” and then the “Network Search” tab.

Choose the picture you like and publish it on the channel.

Telegram has many collections of various stickers for any occasion, and all are free. To add yourself stickers, follow this link https://tlgrm.ru/stickers .

Click "Add to Telegram".

The collection will appear among your stickers.

Did you see a cool sticker in a chat or on a channel? Save it for yourself. Just click on it without holding.

The collection will open.

Save to one of the folders on your device.

Secret chat

If you need to discuss something highly confidential or important information, start a secret chat with a user from your contact list.

The secret chat feature is an increased level of security. The message you sent deletes itself a few seconds after being read. If the recipient managed to make a screenshot, you will receive a notification. The secret chat is tied to the device from which the correspondence was started, and you will not be able to enter from another gadget. If you log out, the chat will disappear.

To start a secret chat, go to the main menu.

Select the user with whom you will correspond.

When the user is online, you can write to him.

Desktop and web versions

These versions have fewer features than the mobile application. So, in the desktop version you can create a group or channel. In the online version (webogram) - only the group. Secret chats are not available in both versions.

All versions, including the application, are synchronized and can work simultaneously. It is very comfortable.

You can download the Windows version here: https://desktop.telegram.org/. Click Get Telegram for Windows and save the installer file. Launch it and install the program.

Open the program and enter your number. You will immediately receive a confirmation code in your mobile messenger (or via SMS, if you choose) - enter it.

To Russify the interface, we follow the same scheme as with the version on a mobile device.

In the correspondence window you need to send the command “locale windows”

Go to settings, simultaneously hold down the shift and alt keys and click on change language.

The folder with our localization file opens. Double click on the file.

We are asked to restart the program. OK.

Ta-dam. The menu has been Russified.

To create new group or channel, click on the icon next to the search bar.

Select the one you need.

To exit the desktop version, scroll to the bottom of the settings and click on “Exit”.

Online version of Telegram – Webogram

The online version is available immediately in Russian. Follow this link https://tlgrm.ru/web .

The interface is already in Russian. To open the menu, click the icon in the upper left corner.

You can manage active sessions. Select Settings from the menu.

Now scroll down to "Active Sessions".

If you click on "End active sessions", all other running versions will be closed. In our case, the desktop program will close and mobile app, and the webogram will remain working.

Bots

Bots are programmed Telegram accounts. How they work: you simply find the account you need, open a chat, enter a request and receive an instant response from the bot.

The capabilities of the bot depend only on the imagination and skills of the developer. Bots can tell you about the weather for tomorrow and give a summary latest news, find the nearest cinema for you, convert the file to another format, select flights and hotels.

A very advanced application. It has many features that make it stand out from its competitors. In addition, like almost any other program, Telegram has a number of secrets. In today's material we will look at what hidden possibilities Telegram has them, as well as how to use each of them.

Cancel auto-download of files

By default, some files are automatically downloaded and stored in your device's memory. Over time, a lot of them can accumulate. And if you consider that maximum size the transferred file reaches 1.5 GB, you can imagine how long it will take you to run out of memory on your phone. But this can be avoided if you set certain settings. They are located in the “Data and disk” section, in the “Media startup” item. You can select the file types you want to download automatically. By the way, you can set separate parameters for the mobile network, Wi-Fi, and roaming.

Secret message viewing

When someone sends you a message and you read it, the sender displays a special icon that lets them know that you have already read the message they sent. If you want to hide this status, you can do the following. After the message arrives, turn off the Internet or put your phone or tablet in airplane mode, and then read the message. Then turn on the Internet again or turn off airplane mode, and your interlocutor will not be able to know that you read the message.

Picture in Picture

Sometimes it's much easier to send a link to a YouTube video than to send large file. It is noteworthy that you can watch such a video directly in the “Telegram” menu. In order not to interrupt your correspondence, you can activate the picture-in-picture function. To do this, after starting the video, click the special button in the right corner of the video player. Now the video will play in a pop-up window, and at this moment you will continue to read the correspondence. It is noteworthy that the video will continue to run in the same mode, even if you minimize the Telegram messenger.

Have you ever noticed that, shortly after sending a message, you made some mistakes? To avoid falling flat on your face, correct them. If the interlocutor has not yet read the message, he will not even know anything. To do this, hold your finger on the sent message, then select the “Edit” option from the pop-up menu. After editing, press the send button again, and your interlocutor will see the already changed text. Please note that this feature does not work in secret chats.

Non-preview notifications and replying to messages from the home screen

Depending on your settings, message previews may even appear on the locked screen. If you don't want anyone to see what you're texting, turn off message previews on the lock screen. Before this, in the settings, go to the “Notifications and Sound” section, where in the “Pop-up notifications” item, select “Do not show”. However, remember that with the function activated, you will be able to reply to messages even from the locked screen. Sometimes this is a very convenient opportunity.

Password protect your application

Even if you turn off message previews, someone who gets to your phone or computer can gain access to your correspondence. To avoid this, you can set a password to access the program. To do this, in the settings, in the “Privacy and Security” section, go to the “Password Code” item, then set a four-digit password.

Deleting messages after a specified period of time

One of the coolest features of Telegram is the ability to delete messages after a specified period of time. This feature is available in secret chats. After starting a secret conversation, go to the chat settings by clicking on its title, and then select “Enable timed deletion.” There you can set a time period from 1 second to a week.

Homemade stickers and gifs

Stickers and GIF animation are a very popular way to express your emotions on the Internet. If in other applications you can only download ready-made sets, then in Telegram you can make them yourself. To do this, just search for the @Stickers bot in the search and follow its instructions. And if you turn off the sound in the recorded video, it will be sent as a GIF animation and will be played in a circle.

Hidden online status from unwanted contacts

By default, Telegram shows the exact time when you were online and using the application. But this data can be hidden. To do this, in the “Privacy and Security” settings section, go to “ Last Activity" You can either allow it to be shown to everyone or just one person, or hide it from everyone or just one person. When the function is activated, the interlocutor will display the approximate time of your stay online - recently, this week, a few days ago, this month, and so on.

Pinned chats and messages

IN latest version In the Telegram messenger, the developers have added a very interesting feature of pinned chats and messages. On Android, to do this, hold your finger on the chat, and on iPhone, swipe the conversation to the left, and then select “Pin” from the menu. Channel owners can do the same with any message. Visitors will now see the pinned message at the top of the screen. By clicking on it, you can go immediately whenever it is written, without having to scroll.

Video messages

The lack of video calls is easily compensated for by video messages. You can record a message lasting up to 1 minute. To do this, click on the microphone icon next to the text input field, after which the switch will be switched to video message mode. Then hold down the camera button and record a video. If desired, you can switch to the main camera. Release the button and the video will be sent immediately.

Message indicator colors

This feature is only available on Android devices. Above the screen, near the peephole front camera, there is a special LED that flashes when messages are received. In the Telegram settings you can choose what color it will glow. To do this, go to “Settings” - “Notifications and sound” - “LED color”.

Telegram account self-destruction

If you do not plan to use Telegram for a long time, specify in the settings after how long your account will be inactive. To do this, in the “Privacy and Security” section, select “Account Self-Destruction”. You can set the period to be 1, 3, 6 months or a year.

Conclusion

We hope you liked our selection of secret features of the Telegram messenger. Please tell us in the comments which ones you use. Also tell us about secrets not mentioned in the article.

Modern communication in instant messengers has changed a lot, and for good reasons. Home - now you have a choice. If before you only had WhatsApp and the strange Viber, which gave practically nothing interesting, now there are so many messaging applications that your head is spinning - Telegram, LINE, WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook Messanger and so on. Against the background of this choice, the user is already beginning to look at the functions, convenience, popularity among his friends and acquaintances, the ease of working with mobile internet. In this regard, Telegram has performed very well, now it is a mega-popular version of the messenger and its version of the client for the Telegram X smartphone turned out to be even more advanced and interesting, for many it will be interesting solution on every day. Now let's look at what the program can do, why it is in demand, and what's so cool about it.

Settings

The main feature of this client is its customization options - you have more themes to choose from, there are night mode, which looks simply amazing and personally, I won’t turn it off even during the day. It is worth understanding that the client version was developed specifically for those who have already used the classic version of the program and want to get more customization options, more options for themes, appearance and so on. This is not necessary for everyone, but if you are one of those who customize everything, then the Advanced tab has everything you need to fine-tune the application for your tasks. There are a lot of switches here, if you don’t even know how they work, then just switch them back and forth to look at the features and capabilities of the client. Personally, I did just that, and found a lot of useful things and details that will help me communicate more productively.

Mobile network

Actually, an important detail for the client is considered to be higher speed when connecting to a mobile network. For the test, I installed both clients and checked which of them would receive messages faster when connected via mobile network. In terms of receiving data, I didn’t notice much of a difference; messages arrive at the same time and cardboards are loaded equally quickly. The difference may be in fractions of a second, but it’s somehow difficult to pay attention to, especially when there is at least 3G, not to mention networks fourth generation. There you won’t notice the difference at all, in my opinion.

Bonuses

Nowadays, many people are concerned about ensuring that their correspondence is protected from external viewing. New client Telegram provides this function and all your correspondence will be encrypted, although original client gives this opportunity, just in new version it seems to have been improved a little. For me, this point is not so important, because there is nothing secret in my correspondence, but if you are worried and want to get the maximum degree of reliability, be sure to look at this client, here the security system has been improved and it will be almost impossible for third parties to view your correspondence.

Bottom line

The application turned out to be quite attractive, but in all other respects it is a completely familiar messenger. If you don’t have some urgent desire to tinker with the settings and get some small tricks, then you can forget about this application, because the speed of operation here is about the same, and in terms of security, we cannot check the program - we are not hackers. All that remains is a cosmetic difference, which not everyone is interested in. On the other hand, you can use the messenger for another number on the same phone, very convenient for work tasks, for example.

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Why do we need another cross-platform messenger? At a minimum, because this is a very lucrative and still unfilled niche - Zuckerberg’s social network for a shocking $19 billion eloquently proves the statement. But financial potential and eminent players in the information market in the creators alone are hardly capable of ensuring guaranteed success for a new project if it does not have strong advantages. And Telegram has something to compete with its competitors. Give arguments?

1. Available everywhere

2. Security, speed, cloudiness - the right accents

I'll start from the end, because it's very important point due to the abundance of smart gadgets many of us have. Let's say you actively use Skype. It is installed on iPhone, iPad and Mac, thanks to the newly implemented push, all devices are always online. You receive a new message - all three devices report it with persistent beeping. If you're lucky, it will also happen with a pause of a few seconds. Telegram has a different system - the server knows from which device the user is currently communicating, and which ones were connected recently. When communicating with your Mac, you won't see notifications on your iPhone and vice versa.

Telegram has a very high degree of security. The Durovs are so confident in the reliability of the Telegram encryption protocol that they are offering $200 thousand to anyone who can crack it. True, a week after the launch, the “newbie” programmer nevertheless described on Habré potential vulnerability what I got it for thanks from Pavel Durov and $100 thousand in addition. And yet, for now, the Telegram protocol is unbreakable.

“Telegram delivers messages faster than other applications,” the project’s offsite confidently states. I can neither confirm nor deny this statement, but Telegram really works very quickly. Of course, provided that your Internet does not suffer from an embarrassingly long ping.

3. Functionality is good

Opportunities are not a constant; in any decent service they gradually increase and improve. At this stage of development in Telegram, interesting things include sending files without a size limit, as well as pictures, videos, contacts and coordinates, displaying the interlocutor’s status: “writing” and messages: “delivered”, “read”, blocking unwanted users, group chats. In addition, client programs can boast of their own useful/pleasant bonuses.

4. Telegram is free and without advertising. Forever

Yes, it's that simple. This postulate is the basis of the messenger. The client will not become paid, no subscription or advertising banner will appear in the contact list. Making money on Telegram will not be burdensome for the user.

Telegram Messenger for iOS

Client for iPhone (can also be installed on iPad, but the program is not optimized for big screen) captivates with its simplicity and obviousness. There are no frills, no wow-effect-inducing interface like , but the application does its job perfectly.

The first tab is dedicated to contacts. Since the connection to the service is carried out by phone number, you do not need to manually add anyone (although it is possible). At the top of the list, contacts that have already appeared in Telegram are filtered, then the rest of the characters in the address book are filtered.

Chats display a list of started conversations, allow you to write to a contact or form a group. Chats can be regular or secret: with encryption, without storing logs on the server, with a timer for deleting messages and without the ability to forward a recording (but you can take a screenshot).

The third tab combines all client and user profile settings. These include notification parameters, blacklist, chat settings, background image and autosaving of received images in the iOS gallery.

Careful run Telegram client I didn’t find any shortcomings in all the main features. It is adapted for iOS 7, stable, easy to use and pleases with attention to detail. You can blame it for its simplicity (and the fact that there are no emoticons), but for me personally this has never been a drawback.

Messenger for Telegram for Mac (Beta)

The application largely replicates the iOS client, primarily in its approach - everything is extremely simple and without unnecessary pretentiousness. The functionality is actually duplicated, except that sending location and contacts is blocked. There is no customization provided, the client’s behavior cannot be adjusted to suit you either - the usual cmd + key combination does not lead anywhere.

Verdict

Telegram is like WhatApp, only more functional and with the ability to communicate from almost any device. Plus, it's free. There are still significantly fewer people in the service than at the famous competitor, but in my opinion it’s a matter of time. I bet on Telegram.

Telegram Messenger

Developer: Telegram LLC
Version: 2.0.1
iPhone (9.4 MB) - free [Download]
UiP rating: 9,5/10