Along with a number of new changes, Telegram recently made it possible to disable message forwarding. If Telegram is your preferred secure messaging app, read till the end to learn how you can use the newly added feature to disable message forwarding in Telegram.
Disable Message Forwarding in Telegram (2021)
Option to disable message forwarding is limited to private Telegram channels and groups. You must also be a channel or group owner to activate this restriction. If you are looking for a way to stop forwarding in direct messages, you can use Telegram secret chats instead. However, here is how you can disable forwarding in channels and groups in Telegram:
Remove Message Forwarding Controls in Telegram Groups
note: We showed the steps in this tutorial on Telegram for Android, but they mostly stay the same on iOS devices.
1. Open the group information page of the Telegram group and press the pencil icon located in the upper right corner. From the next screen, tap “Group Type” to access message forwarding controls. Note that as stated above, the Group Type must be private to use the feature.
2. You will now see a new “Save content” section in group settings. Activate ‘Restrict content saving’ toggle and tap the checkmark icon (Done) in the upper right corner to save the changes. In addition to message forwarding, members cannot copy messages or save media after you enable this toggle.
Remove Message Forwarding Controls on Telegram Channels
If you are a Telegram channel owner, here are the steps you need to follow to restrict message forwarding:
1. Open your channel’s info page, tap the pencil icon in the top right corner and click “Channel Type“.
2. Under the “Save content” section, click “Restrict saving contentSelect ” and press the checkmark (Done) icon in the upper right corner. Your subscribers will no longer be able to forward messages sent on the channel. As mentioned earlier, this feature works on private channels and is not available on public channels.
Unlink Account in Forwarded Telegram Messages
If you are not a channel or group owner, you cannot disable forwarded messages directly, but you can still hide your identity. What you can do here is to hide your account link from your forwarded messages to protect your identity. That way, when someone sends it to someone outside the channel or group, the messages you send will not have a link to your Telegram account. Here’s how to do this:
1. Open Telegram settings using the hamburger menu on the left and click “Privacy and security“. Under privacy settings, “Forwarded Messages” choice.
2. Next, Select “Nobody” “Who can add links to my account when forwarding my messages?” and tap the checkmark icon in the upper right corner to save the changes.
Disable Telegram Forwarding for Enhanced Privacy
While limited to private channels and groups, the flexibility to disable message forwarding should help users limit the spread of potentially sensitive media. As an alternative measure, you can choose to automatically delete messages on Telegram. For more such tips, don’t forget to check out our detailed best Telegram tips and tricks article linked here. And if you have any questions, share them in the comments below and we’ll get back to you shortly.