34 18 Sept - 1 Oct 2019
Best Free AppsApp of the FortnightMESSAGING
Telegram
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(varies) 8WhatsApp is so ubiqui tous
these days, it’s easy to forg et
there are other excellent
messag ing tools out there –
such as Telegram.
Launched in 2013,
Telegram already offers
several feat ures that give it
an advantage over its rivals,
including groups that can
host upto 200, 000
members, an open sticker
platform and cloud-based
messages, which sync
seamlessly between devices
whil e ensuring attached
GIFs and videos don’t eat up your phone’s limited stor age.
Over the past few weeks, however, the app’s developers
have launched a stea dy stream of upda tes and new
feat ures , with the clear intention of persuading staunc h
WhatsApp users to switch their alle giance.
Telegram’s most us eful new feat ure is its hiddenSend
menu, which offers two brilliant options. The first is the
ability to send messagesto yo ur contacts that don’t make
an alert sound on arrival – useful if you know that your
recipient is cu rrently in a situ ation
where that notification ‘ping’
would be inappropriate, such as
asle ep or dr iving, or at the cinema.
The other new option, also in the
Send menu, is Schedule Messag e,
which lets you set a specific date
and time for your messag e to be
sent – handy for pre-planning
birthday greetings or sending
messagesacross time zones.
The latest update also includes
new custom isation options that
let you choose themes for
Telegram across al l your devices,
as well as an expandedselection
of animated emoji.
Telegram has also boosted its
privacy settings. You can now
ensure th at
strangers who
randomly add your phone numbercannot
access your profile, whil e still allowing anyone
in your contacts to find you by your number.Our rating HHHHHUPDATED1If this is the first timeyou’ve
usedTelegram,swipe
through the initialwelcome
screens and tapStart
Messaging. Enteryour phone
number, name and a profile
picture when prompted, and
allow the app permissionto
access your contacts and send
you notifications when
requested. To get other people
you knowto join you on
Telegram, tapContacts,^1 Invit e
Friends,^2 then select the
recipients and press Share
Telegram.2To send a message, press
Chatsat the bottom of the
screen, then tap the pencil icon
and select thecontact or group
you want. Telegramworks ina
similarway to many other
messagingtools – tap in the
Message box^1 to type atext
message, tap the paperclip^2 to
attach or take a photo, or press
the microphone icon^3 to
dictate a voice message. Press
the sticker icon^4 to send
stickers, GIFs and emoji.3If you want to use
Telegram’s new enhanced
Send menu options, long-press
the Send button^1 to bring up
the hidden menu.To senda
silent message, tap Send
Without Sound^2 – this will
deliveryour messageto its
recipient(s) without making an
audio notification alert.To send
a message later, select Schedule
Message,^3 selectyour da te and
time and press Send.MINI WORKSHOP
Sendprivateand silent messages
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