Telegram is one of the world’s most popular messaging apps, but many of its privacy features, like end-to-end encrypted chats, aren’t actually enabled by default. Not only are these features a bit buried, there are also ways to control what personal information of yours Telegram users can see, such as old profile pictures. If you use Telegram regularly, you should definitely check out these eight privacy features.
Use secret chats for privacy
Credit: Pranay Parab
Unlike apps such as Signal and WhatsApp, Telegram’s chats aren’t end-to-end encrypted by default—which means your chats aren’t truly private out of the box. However, Telegram does have a feature called Secret Chats, which is protected by end-to-end encryption.
You can enable encryption by opening any chat in Telegram, tapping the contact’s name > three-dots icon > Start Secret Chat. Your contact will receive a secret chat request, and once they approve it, the two of you will be private.
There are some inconveniences with Telegram’s Secret Chat feature, the biggest being that it doesn’t work on all devices. In other words, you may be able to start these chats from your phone, but you won’t be able to start one from Telegram’s desktop apps. Secret Chats are also device-specific, which means that if you start a chat from your iPhone, you won’t be able to see it on your Android.
Hide your date of birth
Credit: Pranay Parab
If you’ve added your birthday to your Telegram profile, you can hide it from people who don’t need to see it. Go to Telegram Settings > Date of Birth > Nobody.
Add a passcode lock
Credit: Pranay Parab
Finally, you can keep your Telegram chats away from prying eyes by setting up a passcode lock in the app. Visit Telegram settings > Privacy and Security > Passcode.
Delete contacts stored on Telegram servers
Credit: Pranay Parab
You can use Telegram without giving it access to your address book. If you had previously given Telegram access to your contacts, you can also easily delete all of your contacts from Telegram’s servers. Doing this will leave you with usernames and phone numbers in your chat list instead of the names stored in your contact list. This makes it harder to identify who you’re texting, but for some people the trade-off is worth it for better privacy.
You can accomplish this by going to Telegram settings > Privacy and Security > Data Settings > Delete Synced Contacts.
Hide your phone number
Credit: Pranay Parab
You can also hide your phone number from everyone in Telegram. Go to Telegram settings > Privacy and Security > Phone Number. Select Nobody to hide your number from everyone.
Stop people from calling you or adding you to groups
Credit: Pranay Parab
Telegram calls are a good alternative to regular phone calls, but if you don’t want to use the app’s calling features, you can disable them. Visit Telegram settings > Privacy and Security > Calls and select Nobody. You can also stop strangers from adding you to Telegram groups by going to Telegram settings > Privacy and Security > Invites and selecting My Contacts.
Remove links to your account in forwarded messages
Credit: Pranay Parab
If someone forwards one of your texts to others on Telegram, the app adds a link to your profile along with the forwarded message. Stop this from happening by going to Telegram settings > Privacy and Security > Forwarded Messages. Select Nobody from this list to remove the link. Your name will still be attached to forwarded messages, but you can update your Telegram bio to change your name to just initials or your nickname for better privacy.
Delete your old profile pictures (or hide them from strangers)
Credit: Pranay Parab
Every profile picture you’ve ever uploaded to Telegram is stored on your profile, and anyone can go to your profile and swipe to see them. If you want to avoid that, tap your profile picture on Telegram and hit Edit. Swipe right to see all your old photos.
On iPhone, delete these photos by tapping the trash icon in the bottom-right corner of the page. On Android, tap the three-dots in the top-right corner and select Delete. While you’re at it, you can also hide your profile picture from strangers. Go to Telegram settings > Privacy and Security > Profile Photo. Select My Contacts on the next page.
