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To upload new profile images, open Settings. On Android, tap on the camera icon at the top-right. On iPhone, tap the Edit button and choose Set New Photo or Video. Another thing to keep in mind is that selling your data isn’t at the core of Telegram’s business model. According to Telegram’s FAQ page, the company is funded by its founder and CEO Pavel Durov, not through advertising or data collection and sharing. Should I use Telegram?

They offer a great opportunity to reach people directly, sending notifications to their devices with every post. Users can join and leave channels at any time. And once they join a channel, they can see its entire message history. Telegram lacks the Stories feature of some competing messaging apps which lets you post images or short videos without messaging a contact directly. Admittedly it isn’t an essential feature for most people. While you can send uncompressed media in other messaging apps, you have to convert it in another format like EXE or PDF. Telegram, however, allows you to send uncompressed video and images directly (without converting them into another format). It saves you a lot of trouble. To adjust the theme, go to Settings > Chat Settings on Android, or Settings > Appearance on iOS. Here you can change the text size, bubble colors, night mode settings, and similar options. Choose Chat Background to set a new wallpaper for your groups.

All your normal chat media will be saved in your cloud storage. But, secret chats are not a part of the Telegram cloud. A great way to organize your chats inside a group or channel is by using hashtags. When you use a hashtag in a message, that word becomes searchable allowing you to see all the messages relating to that topic. For example, if the group is discussing the new Avengers movie, everyone can use the Avengers hashtag. If you want to see all the messages in one location, you can just tap on the hashtag and all the messages with that hashtag will come up. Telegram has a personal ‘Saved Messages’ space for each user. This is accessible from the left hamburger menu on the main screen. Users can save important messages here which will be backed up on Telegram’s secure cloud just like your chats. The Saved Messages space can then be accessed across you’re your phone, laptop and any other device where your account is logged in. To enable or disable this service, go to “Settings”, “Notification and Sounds”, and swipe down to the “Other” section. You will also find a “Repeat Notifications” option, which you can select as per your convenience.

The cool features of Telegram aren't all so serious, though. Check out how to make your own Telegram stickers if emojis aren't enough. Telegram Privacy Choices