If You’ve downloaded the Telegram messaging app, but don’t know how to use it, we have got you covered in this article. And/or If you are one of those who have never changed the messaging application and have always been with WhatsApp, you may have heard of Telegram, as the second most used option in the world. Well, today we are going to see how the most direct competition of the app owned by Facebook works.
Telegram is another of the many messaging applications on the market, with the exception that it is considered the only one capable of standing up to the mighty WhatsApp.
And how do you intend to take away part of the cake? Well, offering certain features that the application acquired by Facebook (Whatsapp) does not have or significantly expanding others that are common to both.
The truth is that Telegram has become the only one that seems that at some point it could harm WhatsApp, since it has already happened on several occasions, that they have taken advantage of bugs in the green utility to get new registered users.
This is because Telegram is the second option for everyone who uses this type of messaging app, although they are still working to one day be the first, although it is extremely complicated.
Also Read: WhatsApp companion feature Explained
Telegram features to highlight
It is clear that Telegram has certain features that do not differ much from what WhatsApp has, but there are quite a few that extend them, offering much more versatility than the rest of its competition.
To give you a first idea of what Telegram is, we can quickly break down its main virtues and options:
- It is a free application.
- You can create a username for them to locate you. This way the phone number never shows up.
- We have the opportunity to use it not only on a smartphone but also on Windows or a tablet.
- Photos, videos, or files up to 2 GB can be sent.
- There are both voice calls and video calls.
- Secret chats can be held.
- Groups can be up to 200 thousand people.
- There are channels.
To enter in Telegram
The first time we enter Telegram we are going to register in a similar way to what happens in WhatsApp, that is, we will have to put our phone number so that in a few moments we receive a code by SMS which we must enter.
At first, we see how we can select between a New group, Secret chat, or a new channel, in addition to the contacts that have Telegram installed.
- New group: a group will be the place where we can all talk at the same time, just like what happens in WhatsApp, with the exception that in Telegram the groups can have up to 200 thousand people,
- New secret chat: here a chat is created with end-to-end encryption, messages that leave no trace on the servers, message self-destruction, message forwarding impossible, and even photos or videos self-destruction.
- New channel: channels can be public or private and are mainly used as a board, that is, someone posts information so that it reaches subscribers, with the possibility or not that they can interact.
If we generate a normal chat with a person from our contacts, it will be the same as what we have on WhatsApp.
That is, we can write, use emotions, GIFs, send photos, videos, etc.
General configuration of your Telegram App
If when entering Telegram we click on the three vertical lines we will enter the General Settings of the application where we will have several options.
Clicking on these lines will open a dropdown where we will see a series of options such as:
- New group: it is the creation of a new group where we must add people from our contacts.
- Contacts: from here you can manage all your contacts and even invite someone who does not have Telegram.
- Calls: we can make calls and we will see what calls we have already made.
- People nearby: it is an option that allows us to meet people who are close to us. Once we activate it, others can also see us.
- Saved messages: here we can save messages or send us files to store them.
- Settings: from here you can modify everything that has to do with the app’s parameters, such as notifications, sounds, everything related to privacy and security, data and storage, and even the language.
- Invite friends: there is little to explain that the title itself does not say.
- Learn about Telegram: we can enter the Telegram learning channel.
- Dark mode: if we click on the moon that appears in the upper right part of the General Settings screen, we will switch to the dark mode of the app.
Other interesting options that Telegram has
The truth is that Telegram has other options that can be extremely interesting at any given time, so we must know them to have the option of using them or not.
They are options that make differences between Telegram and WhatsApp that we have told you about, but now we will see how to use them.
We will not give our number like WhatsApp
Unlike Whatsapp, Telegram allows us to communicate with whoever we want, but without showing our phone number. That is, we create an alias and that will be the one we share with someone we want to have as a contact.
This alias is generated by entering the General settings, then clicking on Settings.
Then you will see how at the top, just below where it says your phone number, you can fill in your Username.
In addition, it also allows you to configure security so that no one sees our phone number or only those who want to see it can see it.
For that we go back to Settings, click on Privacy and security and we will realize that there is an option that puts Phone number (within Privacy). If we click on this, we enter a new window where we can manage:
- Who can see my number? : with options such as Everyone, My contacts, or Nobody.
- Who can find me by my number? : Everyone or Nobody.
- Add exceptions: we can add users who are exempt from these conditions.
join a Telegram channel
Finding and entering a channel is very easy, much more than you can imagine.
To enter the one we must know its name. Well, we click on the magnifying glass (upper part) of the general Telegram screen, we put the name of the channel and when it comes out we only have to click on the name, and then click on Join.
If it is a private one, we will have to wait for them (Admin) to accept us, if not we will enter at the moment.
Now that you know better how Telegram works and everything it offers you, surely, if you haven’t tried it, you’ll end up doing it, because there are many advantages it brings.
The big problem of Telegram concerning WhatsApp is the number of users, while Telegram is made up of about 500 million, in the company controlled by Facebook there are already more than 2,000 million users. This is a difficult flaw to overcome, at least for now.