WhatsApp drew backlash from users after it made it mandatory to comply with the new privacy policy that allows data sharing with Facebook. If you deleted your WhatsApp account, you may be looking for new WhatsApp alternatives. Ideally, the 2 best alternatives for WhatsApp are Signal and Telegram. Today we will be discussing the transition from WhatsApp to Telegram.
Switching from WhatsApp to Telegram
If you’re hearing about Telegram for the first time or you’ve never tried the app before, here’s everything you need to know to use the messaging service. This should give you some perspective on how Telegram is better than WhatsApp and what you will get if you take action. Having said that, let’s get started.
Why Should I Move From WhatsApp?
Let’s get that out of the way. WhatsApp’s revised privacy policy Requires you to allow the company to share data with other Facebook companies Like Facebook Payments, Onavo, Facebook Technologies (Oculus), and CrowdTangle.
“As part of the Facebook Companies, WhatsApp receives and shares information from other Facebook Companies (see here). We may use the information we receive from them, and they may use the information we share with them to help operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support and market our Services and what we offer, including Facebook Company Products.” reader Privacy Policy.
by WhatsAppThe company shares the following details with Facebook and other Facebook-owned companies:
- phone number
- transaction data
- service-related information,
- Information about how you interact with others while using Facebook services
- mobile device information
- your IP address
However, WhatsApp adds that it “may include other information described in the Privacy Policy section entitled Information We Collect.” this section contains even more details Your contacts in the address book, status information, payment data to name a few. While WhatsApp cannot access your messages thanks to end-to-end encryption, it collects a lot of data that is not really necessary to run the service.
Also, according to WhatsApp’s App Store listing, the company links the following data to your identity:
- acquisitions
- Financial Information
- Location
- Contact information
- Persons
- User Content
- identifiers
- Usage data
- diagnosis
Creating an Account on Telegram
Telegram is available on all leading platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux, and the web. You can then sign up for a Telegram account. installing the application On the platform of your choice. An active phone number is required to register an account on Telegram and you will need to verify your phone number during the account creation process. After you verify the number, you can add your name and get started.
Migrating Personal Chats to Telegram
While it was not possible to import WhatsApp chats to Telegram before, Telegram recently introduced a chat import tool to help you seamlessly bring WhatsApp chats to Telegram.
To use the tool, open a chat, tap on it. More -> Export chat. You can also choose to move the media by tapping the ‘Include Media’ option. If you just want the messages without the media files, you can press the ‘Media Free’ button.
Select Telegram from the Share page that now appears and tap the recipient’s chat from the list of recent messages or find it using the search box. Once you find the right contact, tap ‘Import’.
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Supported Formats and Limits
With Telegram, you can send messages, emojis, GIFs, stickers, animated stickers and files. Unlike WhatsApp, which limits videos to 16MB and documents to 100MB, Send files up to 2GB in Telegram. If this is your first time using Telegram, it will make a tangible difference in the way you share files with your friends. It’s also worth mentioning that you can create your own sticker pack to create silly sticker packs. Ah, did I tell you that you can set animated videos as your profile avatar?
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encryption
One thing to keep in mind while using Telegram is, the app does not have end-to-end encryption by default, Unlike WhatsApp. Don’t get me wrong, chats are still encrypted using Telegram’s server-client MTProto encryption protocol. You can read more about how Telegram approaches encryption in the company’s explainer. here. If you want this additional layer of security, you should look at: Telegram’s secret chats he is Offers end-to-end encryption.
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Secret Chats
To enable secret chats, open the chat window and tap on the contact name. You will now be taken to the detailed conversation details page where you can view the files you have shared in the past. Here, tap on the vertical three-dot menu and select ‘Start secret chat’. Telegram will now create a separate chat session with the same person. In secret chats, you can: Set a self-destruct timer ranging from 1 second to one week.
You should also note that message forwarding is disabled in secret chats. You can pick up where you left off in Telegram apps across platforms, but private chats are limited to the device you’re logged into. In other words, you cannot continue a secret chat in another Telegram app from the same account.
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Chat Themes
If you’re not a big fan of WhatsApp’s dark mode and hate your inability to customize the theme, Telegram is here to welcome you with open arms. Telegram not only lets you customize every aspect of it using a powerful theme engine, but also provides a way to export themes to share with friends and family. You can do change your chat theme Settings -> Chat Settings -> Color themes.
Moving Group Chats to Telegram
Like personal chats, WhatsApp offers an Export button to get a copy of messages from groups. Open the group you want to export the messages to and tap on it. More-> Export Chat. You can now specify whether you want to include the media using the ‘Include media’ option.
Select Telegram from the share sheet that now appears and tap on the new Telegram group. If you do not have a new group, you can create a new group for importing messages using the ‘Create a New Group to Import’ option. Read on to find out how you can create a new group on Telegram the traditional way.
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Creating a New Group
To create a new group, tap the FAB item on the home page and then tap New Group.
Telegram will now ask you to add participants and set a name and picture for the group. When you do both, your new group will be created.
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Group Privacy and Connection Sharing
After you create the group, you have the option to set the group’s privacy to public or private. To change this setting, tap the pencil icon on the group’s description page and select Group Type. Although the private group requires an invite link, any Telegram user can join your group via the search feature if you set it to public. Public groups have the flexibility to get a persistent link. Unless it’s an open source project or a discussion group for a topic of common interest, I recommend keeping your group type private.
To share your group’s link with your friends and family, tap the ‘Copy link’ button on the same page and paste it into your friend’s chat. As an alternaive, Tap Share Link and send the invite link to your old WhatsApp group chat. Your friends can then join the group by tapping the link.
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Administrator Rights
Telegram Provides granular controls to define the capabilities and limitations of other administrators. If you grant admin rights to another group member, you can choose whether they have the ability to change group information, delete messages, ban users, invite users, pin messages, manage voice chats, add new admins, or send anonymous messages. You also have the option to set a custom title for certain administrators.
Switch to Telegram and Enjoy Advanced Messaging Features
Telegram clearly has an advantage when it comes to the sheer number of features it offers. Combined with the power of cloud chats, Telegram allows you to maintain your chats seamlessly between devices without breaking a sweat. If you’re wondering how Telegram compares to WhatsApp and Signal, be sure to check out our detailed comparison of WhatsApp vs Telegram vs Signal, which digs deep into features and privacy. You should also check out our Telegram tips and tricks to use the app like a pro.