Telegram auto-delete message, expiring invites, and more
elegram is updating its messaging app with options for auto-deleting messages, expiring invite links, and new unlimited groups, the company shared in a blog post. Much like Signal, Telegram received a burst of new users in the confusion over WhatsAppβs privacy policy and now the company is adopting features that were already part of its competitorsβ apps, features which offer more security and privacy. Auto-deleting messages were already possible in Telegramβs encrypted Secret Chats, but this new update for iOS and Android adds the option to make messages disappear in any kind of chat. Auto-delete can be enabled inside of chats, and set to delete either 24 hours or seven days after messages are sent. Auto-delete wonβt remove every message though; if a message was sent before the feature was turned on, itβll stick around. Telegramβs competitors have had similar features: WhatsApp introduced a feature in 2020 and Signal has had disappearing messages since at least 2016.
A project of our size needs at least a few hundred million dollars per year to keep going,β Mr. Durov wrote in his public channel on Telegram late last year. βWhile doing that, we will remain independent and stay true to our values, redefining how a tech company should operate.
