Telegram is updating its messaging app with options for automatic message deletion, expiration of invitation links and new unlimited groups, which the company shared in a blog post. Like Signal, Telegram got a burst of new users in the confusion over WhatsApp’s privacy policy, and now the company is adopting features that were already part of its competitors’ apps, features that provide more security and privacy.
Message deletion was already possible in Telegram’s 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 within chats, and can be removed 24 hours or seven days after messages are sent. However, automatic deletion will not delete every message; if a message was sent before the feature is turned on, it stays stuck. Telegram’s competitors have similar features: WhatsApp launched a feature in 2020 and Signal has had disappearing messages since at least 2016.
Telegram also makes changes to groups that potentially enable the kind of immediate, informative sound experiences that have become popular at Clubhouse. New “Broadcast Groups” allow for an unlimited number of members, but limit the creation of posts to group administrators so that they can broadcast. Voice calls, on the other hand, are open to anyone in a broadcasting group, and Telegram believes the feature should be ‘ideal for large communities, where people can follow and take exclusive interviews, news or merely informal conversations’.
To help keep these groups exclusive (or grow quickly), Telegram adds added links, which can be set to expire after a certain number of uses, a certain time, or both. With the new invitations, group administrators should be able to better moderate who is participating and keep the private topic a little more private.
Many users left WhatsApp to Telegram out of concern that Facebook would read their messages. Extending privacy features such as automatic removal seems to Telegram a great way to address the issues. But even with new privacy options, Telegram still does not offer a feature that many users expect – end-to-end encryption.
All messages on Telegram are technically encrypted, but the secret conversations are the only ones visible exclusively on the devices of the people participating. This is a difference that according to Telegram enables features such as the new broadcast groups, but even with automatic removal it can be a dealbreaker for you.
You can see the full list of new features on Telegram’s blog.