Why Telegram is the Best Messaging App in the World

If I could only have one app on my phone, it would be Telegram Messenger. Yes, even over Maps!

First discovered when looking for a Slack alternative for my organization(we couldn’t pay $9/mo/user to access all our messages and files), Telegram quickly replaced 2 other apps we used for notifications thanks to the ability to build bots very simply. With all my close contacts, I now use Telegram exclusively — no need to SMS, Email, or make a phone call.

In this post I share why this app sets itself apart from other messaging platforms.

Private

I believe the richest corporations in the world mining users’ data without compensation, and practically unbeknownst to them, is morally corrupt. That is the extent of my personal concern for privacy — I don’t have any delusions about the government or hackers caring about my conversations about chickens and compost. All messages are encrypted so personal information that could result in identify theft and whatnot are secure, which I expect from any app available in iTunes or the Google Play Store.

From a usability standpoint, however, the privacy element immediately impressed me when I realized how fast messaging can be when everything sent isn’t being crawled by big brother. Telegram is so incredibly fast, it’s magical!

Open Source

The benefits of open source, supported by a thriving community, are expressed in two major ways: incredible new features rolled out on a regular basis, and the aforementioned privacy and security.

Whenever a post goes up on their blog, and I have an update available for the app, a little excitement comes over me. What amazing new features are in store for me today? Video messages, timestamp links when posting videos or video links, forwarding to multiple users, scheduling messages… These are just a few of the updates I’ve witnessed. The quality and quantity of improvements can be attributed to a large community of passionate and talented developers working on this project.

From a safety standpoint, I have more confidence in the fact that any geek in the world can review the source code than by assurance from any official third party organization or bureaucracy. There are people much smarter than me, with much greater concern for their data, keeping a close eye on this app at all times.

Edit and Forward Messages

Here are two basic needs that, last I was in the market, were scarce in the messaging world. The abilities to edit or delete messages after they are sent, and to forward to another person or group, are so essential I could not imagine being without them. Presumably, any service incorporating SMS (Hangouts, iMessage…) cannot edit due to the nature of the SMS system.

Web Version

Digital minimalism is a virtue well worth cultivating, and smartphones are my kryptonite. Batching my internet activities to dedicated computer time is a powerful antidote.

Since Google Voice’s Beta 10 years ago, I’ve made it a rule of mine to only depend on messaging services that are accessible on a computer. Browser-based is an important option as my daily machines operate on ChromeOS. I’ve not installed the native Mac OS app, though you can be sure it won’t disappoint.

Unlimited Storage

As mentioned in the intro, my Telegram epiphany happened when Slack began extorting our organization’s files and messages. As a small business, without venture capital to chalk the expense up to, we could not justify the cost to access our own data. Not only for storage, I also share files I need across devices by simply sending them to myself.

On your phone app, these are conveniently categorized for you by type of file, links, voice and video messages.
(My wife and I currently share 6082 photos and videos, 130 files, 2317 links, 9 audio files, and 5027 voice messages, and counting!)

Searchable

All that storage would be insurmountable without the ability to search for what you need. Searching by words or hash tags is available on all platforms, and like Telegram’s messaging, is ridiculously fast.

Video and Voice Messages

While you can even make encrypted phone calls within the app (a wonderful feature for international calls), I’ve found the need to make calls virtually non-existent with voice messages in my tool box. Beyond short answers, or messages that will be searched for or used as a reference, this has become a preferred method of communication. Why would I call someone and hope they are free to answer when I can say what is needed any time, and they are able to play and replay at their convenience, and vice versa

Video messages are a fun way to send more personal correspondence, and incredibly efficient for updating channels. I’ve also found them incredibly useful for creating little instructional videos — from locating and hooking up a shared bike trailer, to properly closing and engaging our chicken electronet, I’ve forwarded and re-forwarded handy video messages dozens of times.

Instant Views

When a supported link is shared on Telegram, the “Instant View” button will appear below a preview, providing you a consistent, uncluttered view of the article with zero load time.

My choice to use Medium for blogs, and then personal writing, was largely influenced by the fact that it was one of the first Instant View-supported sites. Now, many more have been templated for the Instant View engine, with multitudes added all the time thanks to a huge annual contest, and the ability for anyone to submit a template any time.

There are a couple of blogs I read that ads and pop-ups have bogged down beyond use, which I simply share directly from my Feedly app to an Instant View bot. It pastes the text into a Telegra.ph post (naturally suited for IV), replies back with the link and consequently an Instant View.

Bots!

If there is a feature somehow not yet available in Telegram, start a conversation with The Botfather, get your API key and get to work!

With IFTTT and Zapier, I’ve used webhooks and bots to create simple notification bots, to keep me and my coworkers abreast to all sorts of important information.

Inspired by SkeddyBot, I’ve been building my first full-featured chat bot to help manage my business. It has been such a joy to develop that from here on out when I have a software need I’ll begin by asking myself if a chat bot can meet the needs. This subject deserves an entire post of its own.

Thanks for reading about my favorite app! If you are intrigued and want to take it for a spin, feel free to say “hello!”