Telegram’s a great instant messaging app. You can send stickers (both static and moving), chat with someone without actually giving out your number, add multiple profile pictures — the list goes on. But there are also way more things you can do on this app that go beyond mere messaging functions. Below, we share the five best Telegram hacks that would make your life a whole lot better.
1. Watch shows and movies for free
Those days of cluttering through endless search pages on Google just to watch a TV series are over. We found that with Telegram channels, we can now watch the latest shows and movies anytime, anywhere! Want to rewatch the entire Game of Thrones series? Search @gameofthronesfull and all the episodes are available for download. They even provide songs from the soundtrack that you can listen straight from the app, so you don’t have to Shazam that nice tune from a particular scene you really like. Netflix isn’t spared as well; you can download series and movies that are available on the streaming site. @Netflixoriginals gives you access to both Originals and Hollywood productions, such as Messiah, Breaking Bad and How I Met Your Mother.
2. Schedule messages
Sending a birthday message at 12 is really sweet, but can our old and tired souls really stay up till midnight? Here’s an easy fix — schedule your messages! Simply type your message as per normal in your chat box, hold the send button, hit ‘Schedule message’ and choose the date and time you would like your message to be sent out. Separately, you can also choose ‘Send when online’, which basically sends out your message only when the receiver is online. Until the other party comes online, you can choose to reschedule, edit or delete the message.
3. Use multiple Telegram accounts
With Telegram’s latest update, you can now have multiple accounts. This is great for people who would like to keep their work and personal accounts separate, or for those who want to keep their weeboo identity a secret. To add a new account, tap on the arrow beside your name and choose ‘Add new account’. The app will prompt you to enter another number; follow the process accordingly. Once done, you can switch between accounts whenever!
4. Lock your chats
One of the reasons why Telegram became popular was also because of their focus on privacy, such as the ability to create secret chats and end-to-end encryption. Now, you can protect your privacy even when your phone is in the hands of someone else by locking your chats. To lock a chat, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Passcode & Touch ID. Once you create a passcode and enable it, you will be able to lock and unlock your chats. For iOS users, you may also wish to lock and unlock your chats using Touch ID too.
5. Use Telegram bots
Ever wish you had a PA to help you with a certain task, or basically make your life easier? Take full advantage of Telegram bots — think of them as AI-inspired PAs that can serve many functions, such as schedule reminders, create images out of stickers and much more. For instance, @skeddybot is a brilliant option for forgetful people. Just type your task to the bot, indicate a time (e.g. 10 mins) and the bot will send you a reminder accordingly.
Wish you could set a cute sticker as your wallpaper in HD? You don’t have to go through the hassle of ‘screenshot and crop’ anymore. We discovered @Stickerdownloadbot, a bot that instantly downloads stickers in jpg, png and Webp formats. Simply send the bot your desired sticker and it’ll almost instantly send you an image and download link.
Lastly, you can also listen to music with the help of bots! Some options to use are @FindMusicPleaseBot and @SpotyBot. For the latter, you will need to have a Spotify account. But regardless of which music bot you choose, just type in your desired song and it’ll download and send the song to you.
