Telegram is undoubtedly one of the most popular instant messaging options in the world. In addition, it is also a great download manager and options for almost anything you can imagine. However, despite having a better level of security than other apps like WhatsApp or Messenger, it's still not as private as we'd like. For this reason, today we bring you six security settings that you can apply to your Telegram account to reinforce this section.
Many of these options are deactivated by default in the application, but just by activating them again we will have a higher level of protection. After all, Telegram allows us to control encryption features, privacy and use of personal data; something that not all apps of this style allow us to get our hands on.
For this reason, if you want to strengthen your security and that of your devices when using Telegram, we recommend that you follow this guide. The process, as always, is quite simple, so just follow the steps and in a few minutes you will have a much more secure account.
1 . Hide your phone number
If you have talked to someone on Telegram using your username, but you don't want them to know your phone number, there is a way to hide it. Also, you can choose who you want to see it, and who doesn't; or if you prefer that nobody can do it. The decision is up to you, you just have to do the following.
Enter Telegram. Open the app Settings. Go to Privacy and security. Select Phone number. Here, you can choose if you want only your contacts to see it or no one at all.
two. Use the secret chats of Telegram for more privacy
Steps to start a secret chat in Telegram Unlike other services such as WhatsApp or Signal, Telegram messages are not encrypted completely —third parties cannot access the messages, but Telegram can—. However, there is something we can do to have more secure conversations, and it has to do with an application proposal.
You just have to activate the Secret Chat mode. With this function, your messages will have one more layer of protection and, now, you will have complete encryption.
Open any Telegram chat.Tap on the name or image of the contact.Select the three dots that appear on the right hand side. Here, choose Start Secret Chat. The other person will have to accept the secret chat request. Once it does, you can start talking completely privately. There are some issues with Telegram Secret Chat. For example, some devices cannot access it for whatever reasons. Also, you will not be able to see a secret chat on your other devices; In this way, if you start it on your iPhone, you will not be able to continue it on your computer.
3. Delete your old profile pictures
Unlike other apps in the same category, when you change your profile picture on Telegram, the previous ones continue to be visible to other users. So if someone sees your current image, they can also see the rest just by swiping left or right.
If you don't want this to happen, you can delete your old photos, or limit who can access them. The process is quite simple, just do this.
Enter Telegram.Go to the Settings tab.Tap on Edit and then on your profile picture.Now you can see your photo history by sliding to the right.In If you have an iPhone, you can tap the trash can icon in the bottom corner to delete the image. If you're on Android, tap the three dots in the top corner, then tap Delete.Also, if you want to limit who can see your Telegram profile photos, you can do that too.
Go to Telegram Settings.Go to Privacy and Security.In Profile photo , choose who can see it. The recommended option is My contacts, in this way, only those who are added to your list will be able to access them.
4. Add a passcode and set up Face ID
Steps to set an unlock code on Telegram You can limit who accesses your Telegram app on your device. To do this, you can set an unlock code in your app. If you have an iPhone with Face ID or Touch ID, you can also configure either of these two methods to access Telegram.
Go to Settings in Telegram.Go to Privacy and security.Here, go to Code.Type the code. Later you can activate Face ID to unlock.
5. Limit who can call you on Telegram
If unwanted people often call you through Telegram, or you want to prevent this situation from happening in the future, you can modify this function.
Go to Telegram Settings.Here , go to Privacy and security. Choose Calling and select who can make it. The most recommended option is My Contacts.
6. Not all photos are downloaded
Steps to limit multimedia download on Telegram If you have not configured it correctly, probably all the images you receive by Telegram are downloaded automatically. This can be great for saving time, but it can also end up being a detriment to your storage and mobile data. To stop it, just do the following.
In the Telegram settings, open Data and storage.In the Multimedia Auto-download section you will see two options: With mobile data and With Wi-Fi -Fi.Enter both and disable Auto Download Media.You can also choose to have Telegram periodically delete deleted images and media data.
Under Data & storage, go to Storage usage. Under Keep media, slide the indicator to the limit you prefer. You can choose between 3 days, 1 week, 1 month or infinity (the latter, of course, will not delete your data).
