Telegram Tips and Tricks – Android and iOS

Telegram is an emerging messaging app which is celebrating its 100,000,000 monthly active users and 350,000 new users who join Telegram daily.

In today’s AW Center Tips and Tricks post, we are going to cover the best and essential Telegram Tips and Tricks you need to know to get the most of this rich-featured multi platform messaging app.

At the moment Telegram is available for Android (mobile phones and tablets), iOS (has both iPhone and iPad versions), Windows Phone, PC (Windows), Mac, Linux and it also offers a Web-version. The great thing about Telegram is that you can access your one account through these platforms seamlessly and they are all synced.

Now, let’s get back to the topic and start the list of best and essential Telegram Tips and Trick for both Android devices and iOS devices (iPhone and iPad). First make sure you are running the latest Telegram version on your phone or tablet and then read these tips and tricks:

How to Access Telegram from Different Platforms?

As we mentioned earlier, you can access your Telegram account form all your devices at the same time. Say, you already activated your account on your Android phone and want to also activate it on your Windows PC via the Web Version.

Simply open the Web.Telegram.Org website, use your mobile number and the activation code will be sent to your Telegram account on your Android device. Note that it will be a Telegram message, not a SMS.

How to Change Displayed Name in Telegram?

When you first sign up for Telegram, you are asked to assign a name to your account. Don’t get Name mistaken with Username. To change displayed name in Telegram, do as follows:

Open the Telegram app on your Android or iOS device
Go to the Settings tab on your iPhone/iPad (On Android devices, the Settings is accessible from the left menu)
On your iOS device, tap the Edit button on the top right and then type a new First and Last Name
On your Android device, tap the 3-dot button on the top right and then touch the Edit Name

How to Add Username to your Telegram Account?

As we mentioned, Name is different than Username. If you choose a username for your account, other people can communicate with you without necessary knowing your phone number. To add a username to your account in Telegram, do as follows:

Open the Telegram app on your Android or iOS device
Go to the Settings tab on your iPhone/iPad (On Android devices, the Settings is accessible from the left menu)
Tap the Username name in the main view of the Settings and then choose your UNIQUE username. (On iPhone devices, you need to scroll down the page)

How to Manage the List of Devices Connected to your Telegram Account?

Do as follows to know the list of active sessions and devices which have access to your account:

Open the Telegram and go to the Settings from the bottom bar on your iPhone (on Android devices, tap the 3-small-lines on the left, followed by the Settings)
Go to the Privacy and Security settings
Under the Security settings, tap the Active Sessions option
Now, you get to see the Current Sessions and Active Sessions which have access to your Telegram account
To terminate a specific session, tap on it and confirm the “Terminate this Sessions” And to Terminate All Sessions (Except the current sessions), tap the Terminate All Other Sessions option.

How to Join a Channel in Telegram?

Channels are a new way to communicate using Telegram. To join a Channel in Telegram, do as follows:

Open a Browser on your Android or iPhone device, and type this address: me/CHANNEL.NAME (instead of CHANNEL.NAME, type the name of the Channel you want to join) and let the page load
A message should appear on the webpage, asking you to Open Channel on Telegram
Tap on it, and the Channel will be loaded inside the Telegram app
To Join the Channel, simply tap the Join button on the bottom bar

There is also another way to join a channel in Telegram, in which you message “@Channel.Name” to one of your contacts (or even yourself) and then tap the message and the Channel will be opened.

How to Turn Off Notifications for A Group in Telegram

Group is a fun feature in Telegram which lets you hang out with friends and family. But the notifications for each message can be kind of annoying.

Do as follows to turn off notification for a Group in Telegram for Android:

Open the Telegram on your Android device and open the Group you want to manage the notifications
Tap the Group Name on the top menu and then tap to open the Notifications and Sounds settings
To completely turn for a group in Telegram for Android, go to the Notifications settings and hit the Disabled button
You also get to manage the notifications for a group by changing the sound, vibration and LED color status

Do as follows to turn off notification for a Group in Telegram for iPhone:

Open the Telegram on your iOS running device and go to the Group you want to manage the notifications
Tap the Group Name on the top bar and a quick action buttons will appear.
Tap the Mute button to completely turn off notification for this group on your iPhone
You can also tap the Group Photo and on the opened menu, make sure to toggle the Notifications option OFF

How to Send self-destructing messages in Telegram?

The Secret Chat feature in Telegram, lets you send self-destructing messages in Telegram. In other words, you get to specify how long a message should be visible to the other party. You’ll also get notified if that person takes a screenshot of your self-destructing message or photo.

To send Self-Destructing message in Telegram for Android, do as follows:

Open the Telegram app on your Android phone
Tap the 3-small-line icon on the top left and then hit the New Secret Chat button
Select the contact you want to start secret chat with. (If you already have started Secret Chat with that contact, you just need to open it from the list of your current chats)
If it is a new secret chat, you have to wait for the other party to join the chat, otherwise you can start sending messages
On the Secret Chat page, tap the 3-dot button on the top right and then tap the Set self-destruct timer option
Now set the timer and hit the Done button
From now on, all your sent and received messages will be destructed after the time ends. The timer starts as soon as you read the message or open the photo.

To send Self-Destructing message in Telegram for iPhone, do as follows:

Open the Telegram app on your iPhone device
Go to the Contacts tab and tap the New Secret Chat option
Select the Contact you want to start secret chat with
Wait for the contact to get online, so you can start messaging (The initial setup needs both contacts to be online, and after that you can send messages regardless of the receiver’s status)
Now on the Message Box, tap the Timer icon and set the self-destruct timer
The same as Android, all your messages or photos will now be destructed after the timer ends.

** Note: To turn off self-destructing message in Telegram, simply set the timer to OFF.

How to Deactivate Telegram Account Permanently?

If you delete and deactivate your Telegram account permanently your messages, groups, channels, contacts will be removed. This action needs a desktop browser and cannot be done using your Android phone or iPhone device.

Click here to learn How to Delete Telegram Account Permanently?

How to Block a User/Contact on Telegram

If you block a contact on Telegram you won’t receive any message from the person anymore and your online status for that user/number will change to: last seen a long time ago.

To block a contact/user/number on Telegram do as follows:

Open the Telegram on your Android or iOS device
Go to the Contacts or Chat Archive and open the user/number/contact you want to block
Now the chat’s page of that person should be opened
On iOS running devices, tap the Contact’s Photo on the top right to open the Info, and then scroll all the way down and hit the Block User button
On Android devices, tap the Contact’s Name on the top bar, followed by the 3-dot button on the top right and then hit the Block option

How to View the List of Blocked Contacts/Users/Numbers on Telegram and Unblock Them?

If you have already blocked someone on Telegram and want to unblock him/her, you need to do as follows:

Open the Telegram app on your Android device or iPhone/iPad device
Go to the Settings tab on your iOS device (On Android devices, hit the 3-small-line icon on the top left, followed by the Settings)
Tap to open the Privacy and Security settings
Under the Privacy setting, tap the Block Users option
There you get to see the list blocked users, add new users to the block list or unblock them

How to Add a Sticker Pack in Telegram?

Smileys, emotions, emoticons and now stickers are all a great way to show your feelings when using messaging apps. Sticker Packs are very popular in Telegram and you just need to do as follows to add a sticker pack in Telegram

Say, you have already seen a funny sticker in one of your chats, groups or channels and want to add it your current sticker pack
On iPhone and iPad devices, press and hold your finger on the Sticker you want to add, and then tap the “Add Stickers option on the opened menu, and then a preview of stickers will show and you confirm adding them to your packs
On Android devices, you just need to Tap on the sticker you want to add.

Note that, you can also find the URL of any Sticker Pack and then add it your current pack, by opening the URL in a browser on your mobile phone or tablet, and then let the browser open the link on your Telegram app (hit the Add Stickers button when the page is loaded in the browser). The Sticker Pack URL is like this: telegram.me/addstickers/Sticker.Pack.Name

How to Manage and Remove Sticker Packs in Telegram?

Say, you have added so many sticker packs in your Telegram account and want to manage, sort or delete them. To manage and remove sticker packs in Telegram, do as follows:

Open the Telegram app on your Android or iOS device
Go to the Settings tab on your iPhone/iPad (On Android devices, the Settings is accessible from the left menu)
On the iPhone/iPad devices, go to the Chat Settings, and under the Other settings, and tap the Stickers (Now jump to step 5)
On Android devices, scroll almost all the way down to the Messages settings, and tap the Stickers
Now all your installed and added sticker packs are shown.
On Android devices, you get to sort, hide, delete and share your sticker packs (Tap the 3-dot button and all these options will appear), but on iOS devices you just get to delete or sort sticker pack as well as hide/show sticker tab

How to Stop Being Added to Unknown Groups and Channels in Telegram?

Channels and Groups stop being fun when you are added to unknown channels or groups unintentionally. Telegram has added an interesting feature letting you specify who can add you to groups and channels and who is not allowed.

Do as follows to specify who can add you to a group chat in Telegram:

Open the Telegram app on your Android or iOS device
Go to the Settings tab on your iPhone/iPad (On Android devices, the Settings is accessible from the left menu)
Go to the Privacy and Security settings
Under the Privacy settings, open the Groups option
Now specify whether Everybody can add you to a group or just Your Contacts.
You can also forbid a specific contact/user from adding you to any group, by tapping the Never Allow box under the Add Exceptions

How to Stop GIF Files to Play Automatically in Telegram?

GIF files are getting popular in Telegram and by default they are played automatically. To stop GIF files from playing automatically, do as follows:

Open the Telegram app on your Android or iOS device
Go to the Settings tab on your iPhone/iPad (On Android devices, the Settings is accessible from the left menu)
On your Android device, scroll down to the Automatic Media Download settings and make sure the Autoplay GIFs option is toggled off
But on iPhone and iPad devices, the Autoplay GIFs option can be found under the Chat Settings >> Other settings