Instant messaging applications are growing in popularity. These convenient apps entice us with great features and functions like free international calls and large file sharing. VoiP apps allow for calls over Wi-Fi or any internet connection thereby allowing free calls and international messages. With the abundance of options out there, how can you choose just one?
When it comes to instant messaging applications, one name immediately pops into mind – WhatsApp. While this app has a significant user base in the UK, it’s also widely used all over the world.
There are, however, many alternatives to WhatApp. One of the best alternatives is Telegram. What exactly makes Telegram unique? We’ll go through the features that make the application one of WhatsApp’s toughest competitors.
Editing a message
How great would it be to correct typos before anyone sees them? So many misunderstandings could be avoided! Telegram offers this unique feature. To make changes in Telegram, tap and hold whichever message you want to edit. A menu of options should appear, select the “Edit” button and change whatever you feel is necessary. Your message recipient will be able to see that the message was edited, but won’t be able to see the original text.
Secret Chat
Smartphones are a repository of personal information. Telegram protects your privacy with Secret Chat. There are many reasons why you might want to keep your conversations private. You could be planning a surprise for a loved one and are afraid they’ll learn about it beforehand from your phone notifications. Or, maybe you’re discussing private business matters and need the utmost confidentiality. Secret Chat uses encryption that is not registered on Telegram servers and is deleted from your phone after a certain period of time. The forwarding option for these messages is also disabled.
Sending large files
How many times have you encountered the pesky “File is too large to send” warning when trying to send a photo, video or document via WhatsApp? Attachments sent through WhatsApp are limited to 16 MB. This number is far too small in today’s society when we need to easily send media and documents to others. Telegram, on the other hand, allows you to send files up to 1.5 GB in size. With this limit, you can send almost anything you want from one mobile device to another.
Watching YouTube videos while chatting
Your friends likely send you several videos every day. Imagine being able to watch a video to see if it’s interesting, while simultaneously inviting a friend to watch another video. This is possible with Telegram. To watch the video, simply click on the video thumbnail. To chat with someone while watching, click on the “Picture in Picture” icon.
More members in a group
Until 2016, WhatsApp only allowed a maximum of 100 members to be added to a group chat. Then the limit increased to 256, which, of course, users were happy about. Nevertheless, this number pales against those of Telegram. Telegram allows you to add 100 thousand participants to your group chat! Supergroups have a unified message history, attachments and replies, mentions and hashtags. To upgrade a regular group to a supergroup, open the group chat and click “Change” in the upper right corner of the screen. Now, select Convert to Supergroup in the menu that appears.
Who sees the last login time
WhatsApp doesn’t offer any special settings for accessing personal information. Either everyone sees it or no one sees it. Telegram takes a more subtle approach. For example, you decide who can see when you last logged on. To choose who can see your status, open the Telegram application and go to Settings> Privacy and Security> Who sees the last login time> My contacts. In the “Add exclusions” item, you can select “Always show” or “Always hide”.
Stickers to the photo
Pig or dog ears added to a photo are common today. Yes, we know, stickers annoy many. Some, on the contrary, amuse. For pranksters, Telegram offers an interesting photo editing feature similar to Snapchat.
Hide Telegram
One of the biggest flaws of WhatsApp is the frantic speed with which it clogs your smartphone gallery. In WhatsApp, you can automatically stop the download, but without the preview option. Telegram solves this issue in a flexible manner. You can download all the files sent to you so you don’t miss out on anything important. But, at the same time, you have the ability to prohibit adding them to the gallery. To customize this feature, go to Settings> Messages> Save to Gallery.
These 8 features make Telegram a leader in its class of applications. In terms of simplicity and ease of use, none of its competitors have come close to it thus far. We hope you find our review useful. Maybe after reading it, you’ll want to compare Telegram and WhatsApp yourself and choose which one you like best!
