With Telegram, you can create group chats with up to 200,000 people so you can stay connected with everyone at once. Plus, you can share videos up to 2GB, send multiple photos from the web, and forward any media you receive in an instant.

All messages are in the cloud, so you can access them from any of your devices. Telegram secret chats offer end-to-end encryption. Telegram became one of the top-5 downloaded apps worldwide in 2023 and now has over 700 million monthly active users.

What's the difference between Telegram groups and channels?

  • Telegram groups are ideal for sharing stuff with friends and family, or collaboration in teams of up to 200,000 members. These groups can be public or private and you can assign several administrators.
  • Channels are for broadcasting messages to large audiences. These channels can have an unlimited number of subscribers. All the messages sent in a channel have a view counter that gets updated when the message is viewed, including its forwarded copies.

Can I use Telegram on my phone and PC at the same time?

You can use Telegram on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iPhone/iOS devices. You can log in to Telegram from as many of your devices as you like, all at the same time. Since it is cloud-based, all your chats will sync instantly.

Is Telegram better than WhatsApp?

Telegram stores all your messages in the cloud with seamless sync, meaning you can access your messages from several devices at once, and share an unlimited number of photos, videos and files of up to 2 GB each. This is a key differentiator between the two platforms.

WhatsApp, on the other hand, stores messages and all data on your device and lets you backup conversations on Google Drive or iCloud. New versions of WhatsApp allow for PC desktop clients to be connected even if your mobile device is offline.

Security-wise, WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption as the default for all private communication, this includes messages and calls, group and one-on-one chats as well as any photos or files you send. However, WhatsApp is owned by Facebook which makes many wonder about privacy.

Telegram uses end-to-end encryption on video and voice calls by default, however texts and file sharing do not. Telegram's default messaging is only encrypted between the sender and Telegram servers. In a one-on-one conversation using Telegram, you can initiate a "secret chat" that is encrypted. These secret chats are not stored in Telegram's cloud.

All in all, both Telegram and WhatsApp are robust messaging platforms. Telegram is more open to customization and less restrictive in terms of features and ways you can use it, while WhatsApp is a strong contender that may be more mainstream in some regions. If you need fully secure messaging though, you may be better off checking out Signal.

Can I make video calls on Telegram?

Yes, you can make free voice and video calls on Telegram.

Features

Private

Telegram messages are heavily encrypted and can self-destruct.

Cloud-Based

Telegram lets you access your messages from multiple devices.

Fast

Telegram delivers messages faster than any other application.

Distributed

Telegram servers are spread worldwide for security and speed.

Open

Telegram has an open API and protocol free for everyone.

Free

Telegram is free forever. No ads. No subscription fees.

Secure

Telegram keeps your messages safe from hacker attacks.

Powerful

Telegram has no limits on the size of your media and chats.

We Can do It!

Help make messaging safe again - spread the word about Telegram.

Unsend Messages

We hope everybody had a great celebration. We at Telegram certainly did. One of our engineers got so excited about the new year that he mistakenly shared awful stickers with his Mom. To fix this, he quickly added a way to unsend recently sent messages. This smart move saved his morning, and it can still save yours! If you use Telegram v.3.16 or later, you can now unsend any weird messages you shared within the last 48 hours.

Network Uses

The holiday season is in high swing in many parts of the world, so we figured some of you folks are busy traveling. If that's the case, you may want to check out the new Network Usage section that shows exactly how much data you consumed while in roaming or wi-fi or whatever. Don't forget to hop on the hotel wifi before any serious Telegramming in foreign lands. And remember that you can toggle automatic media download in Telegram Settings.

T.me Links

This is the perfect season to meet new people. Want to give them some contact information, but a phone number seems like too much? That's exactly the reason we added usernames and Telegram.me links waaay back in 2014.

Starting today, you can use t.me instead of telegram.me. Take a napkin, write t.me/username in no time, and give it to someone before they can get away.

This also works with channels: t.me/telegram
Public groups: t.me/snowballfight
And stickers: t.me/addstickers/NickSantini

Android Developers Never Sleep

85% of Telegram users are on Android. Our CEO is worried that, if ignored, this Android population can start a rebellion and dethrone him. To please the mob, he made us introduce the following features to the Android app:

Messages from one sender are now neatly grouped together, and scrolling up shows the date right away, making the chats easier to navigate.
The app now restores your previous scroll position when you switch back to a chat. Very useful when somebody sends you a saga in 1,000 messages, and you want to patiently read them in the right order.

  • Sharing files (a feature we had since forever) has become easier because you see a list of recently downloaded files right on the sharing screen.
  • We now support GBoard, the Google keyboard that can apparently send cat GIFs.
  • And for those 2 users that already have Android 7.1 installed, we are happy to announce that we've added a fast action menu with frequent chats to your home screen. All hail the early adopters!
  • Back to the important stuff: the cowboy, the clown, and the sick face emoji (also known as the 'exfoliating green tea mask face' emoji) have found their way to Android. We support all of them now.
  • What do these emoji mean? When are you supposed to use them? Is the singular form of 'emoji' in fact 'emojus'? To answer all these questions with utmost accuracy, we've also added support for the question emoji.

Shareable Chat Folders

Chat folders can now be shared with a link - inviting your friends or colleagues to dozens of work groups, collections of news channels, and more. With one tap, they will add the folder and instantly join all its chats. Each chat folder supports multiple invite links allowing access to different chats. When creating a link, select the chats you'd like to include - and give it a unique name to match, like Interns or Managers. If you add more chats to your folder and update its link, members will see a suggestion to join the new chats.

Custom Wallpapers

Your favorite photos and color combinations can become custom wallpapers in specific chats to give conversations extra personality and make them stand out. After setting a wallpaper, a special message will be sent in the chat that allows your chat partner to add the same wallpaper on their side - or they can create their own.

Better Bots

Telegram bots are able to host seamless web apps, bringing services and utilities to millions of users - these web apps can now be launched in any chat. When launched in a group, web apps can now support collaboration and multiplayer features for members. This further expands the already vast opportunities for third-party developers and merchants on Telegram - free of charge for everyone. Check out the API and start building.

Improved Interfaces

Send When Online requires fewer taps - in chats where you can see your partner's last seen time, hold the Send button. You can create groups without adding members immediately - in case you want to set up permissions and pin a few messages first. On the latest iPhones, profile pictures have a new animation - smoothly sliding into the dynamic island when you scroll on profiles and info pages.

Power Saving Mode

  • This update brings a new power saving mode, optimizes Telegram for lower-end Android devices, adds even more playback speed options, and much more.
  • Telegram's beautiful animations and lightweight effects are optimized to make any phone feel powerful, but can now be disabled to extend battery life and improve performance on older devices.
  • Power Saving Mode can be set to automatically turn on when your battery reaches a certain percent - with individual toggles that let you disable specific effects.
  • iOS users can also use power saving settings to limit background updates - although we do not recommend doing this, because you will see your app 'Updating...' a lot more often.
  • For Android, we've manually tested more than 200 device types to see how well Telegram performs and created optimized default settings to ensure all users get the best experience.
  • You can toggle Power Saving mode or tweak individual settings for autoplay, animations, and effects in Settings > Power Saving.

What's New

  • Windows version updated to 4.14.4
    • Switch between logged in accounts using Ctrl+Shift+[1-6] shortcuts.
    • Add poll creation in groups to the attach menu, if exists.
    • Another fix for payment card validation.
  • Android version updated to 10.5.3
  • macOS version updated to 10.3

Colorful Calls, Thanos Snap Effect, and an Epic Update for Bots

Telegram's 10th update of 2023 adds improved calls with a colorful new design that use less of your phone's battery, a new vaporize effect when you delete messages, the largest bot update in Telegram's history – and more.

Upgraded Calls

Telegram calls let users talk, turn on their camera or share their screen – they are protected by end-to-end encryption and available on every platform.

In this update, we have totally redesigned calls, adding new animations and beautiful backgrounds that change dynamically based on the call's status: ringing, active or ended. The new interface requires fewer resources than before, which means it saves battery life and works better on older devices.

We've also fixed hundreds of bugs and interface glitches – and added some improvements to call quality. More improvements to connection and audio quality are coming in 2024.

Thanos Snap Effect when Deleting Messages

Last month we added an experimental vaporize animation on iOS for auto-deleted messages.

This impressive (and energy-efficient) animation is now available on both iOS and Android and plays whenever you delete any message.

Epic Bot Update: Reactions and Much More

Telegram's free bot platform lets developers integrate any kind of service into the Telegram ecosystem – from simple chat bots to powerful mini apps that can replace any website.

We're closing this year with the largest update to the Bot Platform in Telegram's history. Among dozens of new features, bots can now react to messages and manage reactions, quotes, and links, send replies to other chats or topics, and much more.

With the new update, bots can also get information about giveaways and boosts in channels where they are admins.

Previous release notes

Stories and 10 Years of Telegram

Today, Telegram celebrates its 10th birthday - with our biggest update yet. Over the past decade we've built hundreds of new features that are now used by over 800 million people. In this update, we launch Stories - with a unique dual camera mode, granular privacy settings, flexible duration options and much more.

Telegram Stories

Stories let you quickly share moments and see more from your friends - and they're now available on Telegram.

This was by far the most-requested feature in the history of Telegram - and we've spent several months innovating and refining the format. Telegram Stories have all the things you'd expect - and plenty more that have never been done before.

Stories are displayed in an expandable section at the top of your screen - so you still see the full length of your chat list and folders. When viewing a story, you can quickly tap to share, reply privately, or react - tap for a quick or hold down to use hundreds more reactions. By default, you'll see stories from all your contacts on your home page - and you can hide stories from specific contacts, sending them to your archived chats.

Dual Camera Mode

To capture scenes from every angle, stories can take photos or videos with both the front and rear camera of your device simultaneously - letting you choose which camera goes where, even while recording.

Stickers, Locations and Captions

Stories use Telegram's powerful media editor - allowing you to add text, drawings, stickers or tag your location. For even more context, stories support captions - where you can include a longer text description, tag friends or add links.

You can add multiple images from your gallery - or use search to find GIFs and pictures from the web.

Granular Privacy Settings

When posting a story, you can select from 4 privacy settings: Everyone, My Contacts, Close Friends and Selected Contacts. Each option can be completely customized, allowing you to include or exclude any users.

You can also select a list of users who will never see your story - so your boss or grandma won't find out about your adventurous side.

Stories in Profiles

Stories can last for your choice of 6, 12, 24 or 48 hours. You can also post them to your profile, arranged in a gorgeous grid - where both old contacts and new connections can see your highlight reel for as long as you want.

Now when you meet people on Telegram, you'll see exciting snapshots of their life - not just a few profile photos.

Editing Stories

For the first time in the history of social media, you can update any element of your story at any time - changing its visibility, caption, on-screen text, stickers or anything else - without having to delete and repost it from scratch.

Detailed View Statistics

When a user opens a story, they appear in a list of viewers that is visible to the story's author - like a read receipt.

After you post a story, you can open it to see the list - which you can filter to show just your contacts, and sort by recent views first or reactions first. If you want to check if a specific user saw it, type their name into the search bar.