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 WhatsAppโs privacy policy and now the company is adopting features that were already part of its competitorsโ apps, features which offer more security and privacy. Auto-deleting messages were already possible in Telegramโs 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 wonโt remove every message though; if a message was sent before the feature was turned on, itโll stick around. Telegramโs competitors have had similar features: WhatsApp introduced a feature in 2020 and Signal has had disappearing messages since at least 2016.
What is Secret Chats of Telegram
Secret Chats are one of the serviceโs additional security features; it allows messages to be sent with client-to-client encryption. This setup means that, unlike regular messages, these secret messages can only be accessed from the deviceโs that initiated and accepted the chat. Additionally, Telegram notes that secret chats leave no trace on the companyโs services and offer a self-destruct timer.
