Telegram is updating its messaging app with options to automatically delete messages, expire invite links, and unlimited new groups. Just like Signal, Telegram has seen a massive increase in new users thanks to the confusion surrounding WhatsApp’s privacy policy. Now the company adopts features that were already a part of its competitors’ apps, which are the features that they offer Greater security and privacy.
Automatic deletion of messages was already possible in secret, encrypted Telegram chats, but this new update for iOS and Android adds an option to hide messages in any type of chat. Automatic deletion within chats can be enabled and set for 24 hours or seven days after messages are sent. However, automatic deletion will not remove all messages at all: if a message was sent before the feature was activated, it remains unaffected. Telegram’s competitors have similar characteristics: WhatsApp introduced one in 2020, while Signal launched expired messages in 2016.
Telegram is also making changes to groups that could allow for a kind of instant and educational audio experiences similar to the ones that have become popular in Clubhouse. New Transmission Groups They allow an unlimited number of members, but they limit creating posts to group admins only. On the other hand, voice chats are open to everyone, in the broadcast group, and Telegram believes the feature could be “ideal for large communities, where people can follow and capture exclusive interviews, news or informal conversations.”
To help keep these groups exclusive (or grow them quickly), Telegram adds expired invite links that can be set to expire after a certain number of uses, a certain period of time, or both. With new invitations, group administrators need to be able to better supervise those who join and keep the topic more private.
Several users recently left WhatsApp in favor of Telegram, worried that Facebook would read their messages. Expanding privacy features like auto-delete appears to be a good way for Telegram to address these concerns. But even with the new options, Telegram still doesn’t offer the feature many users globally expect: end-to-end encryption. All messages on Telegram are technically encrypted, but only Secret Chats can only be viewed on the devices of the people involved.
The full list of the new features can be found on the Telegram Blog.
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