Review and Features of Telegram messenger app
Want to know the differences between Whatsapp and Telegram applications? Which is Telegram's official website? Interested to know about the various features of Telegram messenger app? Please read further to get all details regarding world's fastest messaging app 'Telegram'. I have provided a review of Telegram app, listed Telegram's advantages and disadvantages, as well as listed similarities between Telegram and Whatsapp.
Telegram application has been launched under Communication category in Google Play store for Android devices by Telegram LLC. It is also available for iOS devices in the Apple store. It is a messaging application with more focus on security and speed. Using this app, you will be able to form group chats containing up to 200 members and stay in touch with all. Also, one can share innumerable photos and videos (up to 1 GB) with the help of this app. An important advantage with this messaging app is that all our chat messages (from ordinary chats) are stored in cloud and so we can access them from any Android or iOS devices. In terms of security, it provides option to have end-to-end encryption on chats (secret chats) so that the involved messages are read only by the concerned parties. Messages of such encrypted chats are not stored on any servers and they have an additional self-destruct functionality which erases them from both the involved devices without any trace. This is a great innovation to help maintain privacy of your messages and ensure secured chat communication. With this security feature, it has overcome a major flaw of Whatsapp, Line, etc. and provided people with a great alternative.
In short, Telegram app has several advantages over Whatsapp and other similar communication apps due to it's ability to provide secure transmission of messages, files, etc. along with the option of using this app on several devices.Telegram Messenger Review
Price and download
It is a free communication messenger app that can be downloaded for Android devices from Google Play store. For iOS devices like ipod, iPhone, iPad, etc., one can download different versions of it for free from Apple store. One can download this app from Telegram's official site www.telegram.org that contains appropriate download links for iOS and Android devices.
Features and usage
One can easily install this app from respective download links available in the official website of this app (as mentioned above). Once the app is installed, you can open it, verify your mobile number and receive an acknowledgement SMS along with some code. After your verification process is complete, you can go to your phone's contact list and check which other friends or family members have a Telegram account. By now you will have realized that working with this app is similar to working with Whatsapp messenger app. So, most of you who have already used Whatsapp will have a smooth sailing while using this app.
Just like Whatsapp, you can check the profile information of your chat partner by clicking on his / her photo (which appears at the right hand top corner instead of left hand top corner as in case of Whatsapp). You will then be able to see their name, phone number and last seen status. Another useful feature of this app is that you can set separate custom message notification tones for different contacts. Also, you will be able to access the history of shared content like photos, videos, etc. under "Shared Media" section.
As discussed above, the biggest advantage of this app is the security feature along with end-to-end encryption that it provides. In other words, one can have two types of chats: Ordinary chats (using client-server encryption where messages are stored on cloud for future access from multiple devices) and Secret chats (using end-to-end encryption with self-destruct option where only the two involved parties can see the message). To maintain privacy, you can select the option "start secret chat" from the profile of the intended recipient / partner. This will open a new chat window that has end-to-end encryption enabled on it. Then, your chat partner will receive a notification about you wanting to have a secret chat with him / her. Once he / she confirms the request, you will be able to see some encryption key in the profile which should match with the key that is seen in your contact's chat. Another option that becomes enabled for a secret chat is the self-destruct facility. It is a timer on which you can set the duration (ranging from 2 seconds to 1 week) after which the message of your secret chat should self-destruct. You can either choose to enable this option or you may opt not to use this feature. So, once you send the message, it is encrypted across the transmission medium and revealed only to the recipient. In this case no messages or content is stored on the servers or cloud.
Apart from this, the other features are standard ones which will make your chat experience quite memorable. You can even share various forms of media like photos, videos (up to very large size of around 1 GB), etc. You will even be able to share your location. And as per your wish, you can choose to share your content on the app's own cloud space. There are plenty of similarities between user interface of Whatsapp and Telegram messenger. However, there is no voice messaging feature available for this app yet. But, we cannot rule out the possibility of the app developers adding the voice messaging feature in future. If we have any queries / issues related to the app, we can even directly contact this app developers from inside the app. One can log-out of this app using the log-out option available at the bottom of our profile.Reliability and speed
This app is indeed one of the fastest messenger apps I have come across. The reason I say this is because it was able to deliver messages quickly even with my 3G internet connection on phone in areas where the 3G network is not too powerful. The recipients are able to receive messages without any delays, thereby, making this app an extremely reliable communication app.Display, Controls and Settings
With regards to usage, this app is extremely easy, intuitive and user-friendly. The user interface is simple and straight-forward. There may not be many features and options available in the settings section (in comparison to other apps like Whatsapp), but, the limited options available are pretty smart and useful. An important setting related to encryption of private chats can be done smoothly from the recipient's profile page (with whom you intend to have a secret chat). Also, you can personalize your chats using different background themes, notifications and sound options. You can even opt to activate animations from the settings section.Pros and Cons of Telegram app
Some advantages (or pros) of this app are listed below:
Some disadvantages (or cons) of this app are listed below:
Overall, I found this app as a worthy competitor for other popular messenger apps available today. With the security feature, this app clearly comes out as a winner. Even though I am a big Whatsapp fan, I have still installed this app and started using it for secret chats. I will definitely recommend you to try this app as there is so much to like about it. Please share your experience of using this app here. Meanwhile, you can visit the Telegram's twitter page at: Official Twitter account
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