Telegram
Maximize your messaging experience with efficient communication, speedy delivery, and optional end-to-end encrypted Secret Chats. Engage in unlimited channels and groups up to 200,000 members. Enhance chat management and media sharing with Telegram Premium and its exclusive benefits. All core features remain free.
Cost / License
- Freemium (Subscription)
- Proprietary
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- HUAWEI AppGallery
- iPad
- Apple Watch
- Android Auto
- Linux Mobile
- Android Wear
- PortableApps.com
- FreeBSD
- Apple Car Play
Features
Properties
- Lightweight
- Privacy focused
- Security-focused
- Free Speech
- Support for Themes
Features
- Encrypted Chat
- Stickers
- Chat Bot
- Large File Transfer
- Ad-free
- End-to-End Encryption
- Multi Device Support
- Video Calling
- Channels
- Dark Mode
- Bots
- Share Videos
- Secret chats
- Cloud based
- Integrated File Sharing
- Folders
- Animated stickers
- Private Chat
- Persistent History
- Custom themes
- Voice messages
- Multiple languages
- Video Conferencing
- Public groups chat
- VoiP Calls
- Encrypted calls
- Multiple Account support
- Two-factor Authentication
- Self Destructing Messages
- Portable
IFTTT Integration- Cloud Sync
- Works Offline
- Instant view
- Chat organizer
- Chat history
- Auto-delete
- Search by tags
- Messages in cloud
- Built-in Photo editor
- Sync Contacts
- Voice Chat
- Customizable Themes
- Custom Backgrounds
- Hide chat
- Contact Folders
- Based on phone number
- Cross-Platform
- Cloud platform
- Support for GIF
- Progressive Web App
- Encrypted VoIP calls
- Private messaging
- Push to talk
- Text messaging
- Anonymous Secure Filesharing
- GPS Location Tracking
Tags
- Switching between platform
- Chat
- Privacy Protection
- share-location
- contacts-integration
- messaging-app
- Messaging
- Smartphone Messaging
- private-messages
- payments
- typing-indicator
- secure-messaging
- messaging-apps
- username-search
Telegram News & Activities
Recent News
- POX published news article about Telegram
Telegram adds support for secure passkey login, gift purchase offers, and audio in storiesTelegram’s new update introduces passkey support, allowing users to log in instantly using a PIN or...
- Maoholguin published news article about Telegram
Telegram launches Cocoon, a decentralized confidential AI network on TON BlockchainTelegram has launched a decentralized confidential AI compute network on the TON blockchain called ...
- Maoholguin published news article about Telegram
Telegram adds Live Stories real time streaming, gifts auction, and repeat schedulingTelegram latest update adds Live Stories, letting users start real time streams directly inside sto...
Recent activities
- RemovedUser liked Telegram
- Beryllum rated Telegram
tunaoruc added Telegram as alternative to Stranger Space
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What is Telegram?
Telegram is a messaging app created by former 
VK creators with a focus on speed and security. It’s superfast, simple and free. It is like SMS, but more powerful.
You can send messages, photos and videos to people who are in your phone contacts (and have Telegram). You can also create groups for up to 200000 people or channels for unlimited subscribers.
Your chats are not encrypted by default, which enables other people to see what you are writing. You can enable a "Secret Chat" to enable end-to-end encryption.
Telegram offers a Premium plan too: by subscribing to Telegram Premium, users unlock doubled limits, 4 GB file uploads, faster downloads, exclusive stickers and reactions, improved chat management – and a whole lot more. At the same time, all existing features that users have come to expect and rely on for nearly a decade remain free. Moreover, non-premium users will be able to enjoy some of Premium's benefits: for example, download the extra-large documents and view stickers sent by premium users, as well as tap to increase counters on premium reactions that were already added to a message. There are different prices for the Premium subscription based on your country, also if you buy it via the @premiumbot you don't have to pay the app store fees.
Telegram's security model has received notable criticism by cryptography experts. They criticized the general security model of permanently storing all contacts, messages and media together with their decryption keys on its servers by default and by not enabling end-to-end encryption for messages by default.
Telegram's client-side code is open-source software, whereas its server-side code is closed-source and proprietary. The service also provides public APIs with which developers can access the same functionality as Telegram's official apps to build their own messaging applications.
Telegram also provides a bot API for programmers to create different kinds of Telegram bots. Bots are simply Telegram accounts operated by software – not people – and they'll often have AI features. They can do anything – teach, play, search, broadcast, remind, connect, integrate with other services, or even pass commands to the Internet of Things.
Telegram information
Developed by
Telegram FZ-LLCLicensing
Proprietary and Freemium product.Pricing
Subscription ranging between $4 and $6 per month + free version with limited functionality.Rating
Average rating of 3.8Alternatives
284 alternatives listedNews
35 news article related to TelegramSupported Languages
- English
- Arabic
- Belarusian
- Catalan; Valencian
- Dutch
- French
- German
- Indonesian
- Italian
- Korean
- Malay
- Persian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Spanish
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Uzbek
AlternativeTo Categories
Social & Communications, Security & Privacy, Office & Productivity, Remote Work & Education, File Sharing, Travel & Location, Video & MoviesApple AppStore
- Updated
- 4.01 avg rating
Comments and Reviews
Great app, although a little confusing to start using at first. Was looking for a replacement to another messaging app that wasn't private enough (don't trust anything owned by Facebook anymore) and this one seemed quite popular and safe. End-to-end encryption, self-destruct timers and most importantly, their secret chats that cannot be accessed on the cloud are great.
While the client itself is open source, there are a lot of parts of telegram that aren't. It is not possible to look through the whole process of one client writing another. I think to make that problem more clear telegram should actually be put in the category Free and not open source.
I'm questioning the "Open source" as well. Even the client isn't really "Open source" any more at least not the one they are using. The provide an open source code base on Github but you can tell by there releases and updates that they themselves are not using it in a very open manner.
Thanks for changing the label to Free, I think at least for now it fits way better than Open Source. Anyways we will see on their website they are claiming that eventually they want to make everything open source even though I doubt it.
they can't put their encription code open source, so exept this is opensource
Thanks for changing the tag to free, I think it has the correct labeling now.
ups, I didnt noticed it, Im new in this site and Im trying to understand it, so please be patient
From the Telegram FAQ:
Q: Why not open source everything? All code will be released eventually. We started with the most useful parts — a well-documented API that allows developers to build new Telegram apps, and open source clients that can be verified by security specialists.
Well, nice that they want to do it at some point, but as for now, the security-critical parts are not open source. As long as that is the case, the tag should be free not open source.
I totally agree to Johannski. All code will be released eventually is wishy-washy.
centralized servers that store user information, no default e2e, privacy features locked behind paywall (anonymity for voice messages when resend), ads. deleted messages from regular chats stay at servers for 6 months (official statement, at least), servers in russia (to store user data, Tg uses the services of two russian companies: GlobalNet LLC and RETN).
it's not "security-focused". i doubt that even "privacy-focused" is something that suits Tg.
remove "ad-free": link on official Tg website about it.
Not end-to-end encrypted. Does not offer encrypted messages except for private message mode.
Accounts get limited and banned for no apparent reason. At first a few times my account got limited temporary, for 7 days or so, and now it says it's banned from participating in public activity period.
The "spam info bot" always says I'm limited for contacting strangers, but i never done that on that account, let alone sending spam/advertising. What I actually used to do is infrequently post comments in public channels criticizing Russian government. So either telegram purposefully punishes users for that type of activity (which wouldn't be something unimaginable), or the reporting system is easily abused.
It's very mid. It says it's open source, which I mean... I guess. I've seen reviews saying it's only partial. For stickers it's really good and for uploading/sharing (big) files and media is really awesome. I'm sad I'm paying for it, but I'm going to cancel. EE2E is definitely a scam. it's not on by default, only when you go on "secret chats." It's good that it's not owned by Big Tech, but in late December 2024 or early January 2025. some executive decided it will now share data to local authorities, which in my opinion, threw everything it stood for out the window, all because the current CEO's current allegations of terrorism, abuse, or trafficking. I'd advise to go looking for something else.
Centralized. Asks for your phone number even if you try to register from desktop! The 'encryption' is a total scam, as with many similar services - they're the ones doing the encryption, so what makes you think they can't decrypt your messages just as easily? They know the whole method.
Telegram has good userbase, but they are oblivious to the platform's fundamental flaws.