Telegram tips and tricks: Send secret messages using the app; check steps

Telegram users can send secret messages to the people they are chatting with through the Telegram Secret Chat feature. Here is how to enable it.

Check steps to use the Telegram Secret Chats feature to send secret messages. (Bloomberg)

Are you a Telegram user? Then know a sneaky way of sending messages that is really amazing. You can send secret messages to the person you are chatting with. Telegram has several features, one of which is the Secret Chat feature which can be used to send secret messages. The feature is said to provide additional safety to users. According to Telegram, secret chats are meant for people who want more secrecy than the average person. All messages in secret chats use end-to-end encryption which means only you and the recipient can read those messages. On top of this, Messages cannot be forwarded to anyone by the recipient from secret chats. And when you delete messages on your side of the conversation, the chat on the other side will be deleted as well.

You can also set self-destruct times for media files on the app. You can order your messages, photos, videos and files to self-destruct in a set amount of time after they have been read or opened by the recipient. The message will then disappear from both your and your friend's devices. The Self-Destruct Timer is available for all messages in Secret Chats and for media in private cloud chats. To set the timer, you simply need to tap the clock icon (in the input field on iOS, top bar on Android), and then choose the desired time limit.

The clock starts ticking the moment the message is displayed on the recipient's screen (gets two check marks). As soon as the time runs out, the message disappears from both devices. Also, the timer in Secret Chats only applies to messages that were sent after the timer was set. It has no effect on earlier messages.

How to start a secret chat

Step 1:

If you are not a Telegram user you will have to download the app on your smartphone. Android users can do so from Google Play Store while iPhone users can visit Apple App Store for the same.

Step 2:

Open the application and create your account.

Step 3:

Open the profile of the user you want to contact then tap on the icon with three dots ‘…’.

Step 4:

Now, select ‘Start Secret Chat’.

Step 5:

It can be noted that Telegram secret chats are device-specific. If you start a secret chat with a friend on one of your devices, this chat will only be available on that device. If you log out, you will lose all your secret chats. You can create as many different secret chats with the same contact as you like.