Telegram Tips

Anonymous Admins. Enable Remain Anonymous to make an admin invisible. These admins can’t be seen in the list of members and their messages are sent with the group name and photo instead of their own.

Users in public chats can also post anonymously, sending messages as one of their public channels.

Games. Bots can function as entire gaming platforms – hosting single or multiplayer games that let you challenge your friends and compete for the high score.

Check out @GameBot and @Gamee for some examples.

User Bios. In Settings, add a personal description that will appear as bio text when users open your profile from chats.

Default Browser. Choose whether to open links with Telegram’s in-app browser, or your device’s default browser in Settings > Chat Settings.

On iOS, go to Settings > Data and Storage > Open Links In – and choose any of your browser apps.

Granular Privacy Settings. Users have complete control of their overall visibility – able to choose who can see their phone number, profile photo and more in Settings > Privacy and Security.

In addition to broad categories like My Contacts and Nobody, you can add exceptions for individual users and entire group chats – your settings will adjust automatically as people join or leave the group.

Passcode Lock. You can add a local passcode to your mobile or desktop app, which is required to open the chat list and see your messages.

To add a passcode, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Passcode Lock. You can set the app to automatically lock after a certain amount of time, and can manually lock the app by tapping the 🔓 icon in your chat list.

If supported by your device, you can also enable fingerprint or face unlock, in addition to the numerical code. For extra security, you can also enable a Two-Step Verification Password – which is required each time you log in to your Telegram account.

Transfer Ownership. Give ownership of your group or channel to one of its admins by enabling all rights for that admin.

(Remain Anonymous can be either disabled or enabled)

Format Text. Select text in messages or captions to add hyperlinks and change its format – or use markdown shortcuts like **bold** __italic__ ||spoiler|| and ~~strikethrough~~

On Desktop, you can also use `monospace` and ```code``` shortcuts.

On MIUI devices, tap ➕ in the top-right corner to show the formatting options.

Slow Mode. Group admins can enable slow mode in chat – setting a timer for how often each member can send a message.

Admins are not affected by the timer, and slow mode can be modified at any time from the group’s Permissions page.

YouTube Timestamps. Writing a timecode like 0:02 in messages or replies opens YouTube links and Telegram videos to that exact moment.

Send Media When Online. In the media editor, photos and videos can also be set to deliver as soon as your recipient comes online.

This option only appears if the user allows you to see their Last Seen time.

Media Editor: Soften Skin. Smooth skin tones to give even the most rugged dwarves an elvish glow 😇

Edit Sent Media. Re-crop, re-decorate or replace photos and videos in any chat.

You can also add or change captions – and just like edited messages, media will display an edited label.

To edit media sent without a caption on Android, tap the empty space next to the message.

Greeting Stickers. In chats with no messages, such as newly-joined contacts, you can tap to send a suggested sticker and say hello.

Telegram Business users can set a custom start page – with their own text and greeting sticker.

The Sticker Panel has over 20,000 free stickers from professional artists. You can take a look at what’s trending, search for something specific – or simply type an emoji to get instant suggestions.

Animated Stickers run at a smooth 60 frames per second. They consume less battery than GIFs and are 6 times smaller than the average photo.

QR Code Login. Instantly sign in to Telegram’s Desktop and Web apps with your mobile device from the Devices page.

All Telegram apps are standalone – after you log in, you do not need to keep your phone nearby or connected to the internet.

Media Editor: Custom GIFs. Tapping the 🔊 button mutes a video's sound and makes it a GIF – which will autoplay and loop in the chat.

Your custom GIFs also appear in your GIF panel so you can share them again and again.

Send Without Compression. Quickly send recent photos or videos at their full resolution by tapping ‘Send as File’ after selecting media in the attachment menu.

Media albums. Send multiple media items to create a compact album, then tap to flip through the fullscreen photos and videos.

Media Editor: Tilt Shift. Add a circular or linear blur effect to photos – pinch to change the size, spread or angle.