Telegram Tips

Inline GIF Search. Type @gif to quickly search for and send GIFs in any chat from the message field.

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

Custom Folders let you organize your chat list into specific tabs. Include and exclude individual chats and categories for complete control.

User Bios. Add bio text to your profile to say a little bit about yourself or include an iconic quote.

Default Browser for Links. Choose a default app for opening links – either Telegram’s in-app browser, or your preferred app.

Granular Privacy Settings. Change your overall visibility and add individual exceptions for any category – such as your phone number, last seen time and more. You can add individual users and entire group chats as exceptions – settings will adjust automatically as people join and 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 replies and captions opens YouTube links and Telegram videos to that exact moment.

Send When Online. You can schedule messages or media to be delivered as soon as your recipient comes online. This option only appears for users who share their Last Seen status with you (and vice versa).

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. From People Nearby or chats with newly-joined contacts, you can tap to send a suggested sticker and say hello.

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. 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. Turn any video into a GIF by tapping the mute audio button. The new GIF also appears in your recent GIFs tab, making it easy to send and share more than once.

Send Media as a File. Quickly send recent photos or videos at their full resolution by selecting ‘Send without Compression’ on Android or ‘Send as File’ on iOS.

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