Format Text. Select text in messages or captions to add hyperlinks and change its format – or use markdown shortcuts like **bold** __italic__ ||spoiler|| and ~~strikethrough~~

On Desktop, you can also use `monospace` and ```code``` shortcuts.

On MIUI devices, tap ⋮ in the top-right corner to show the formatting options.

Transfer Ownership. Give ownership of your group or channel to one of its admins by enabling all rights for that admin.

(Remain Anonymous can be either disabled or enabled)

Passcode Lock. You can add a local passcode to your mobile or desktop app, which is required to open the chat list and see your messages.

To add a passcode, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Passcode Lock. You can set the app to automatically lock after a certain amount of time, and can manually lock the app by tapping the 🔓 icon in your chat list.

If supported by your device, you can also enable fingerprint or face unlock, in addition to the numerical code. For extra security, you can also enable a Two-Step Verification Password – which is required each time you log in to your Telegram account.

Granular Privacy Settings. Users have complete control of their overall visibility – able to choose who can see their phone number, profile photo and more in Settings > Privacy and Security.

In addition to broad categories like My Contacts and Nobody, you can add exceptions for individual users and entire group chats – your settings will adjust automatically as people join or leave the group.

Default Browser. Choose whether to open links with Telegram’s in-app browser, or your device’s default browser in Settings > Chat Settings.

On iOS, go to Settings > Data and Storage > Open Links In – and choose any of your browser apps.

User Bios. In Settings, add a personal description that will appear as bio text when users open your profile from chats.

Games. Bots can function as entire gaming platforms – hosting single or multiplayer games that let you challenge your friends and compete for the high score.

Check out @GameBot and @Gamee for some examples.

Anonymous Admins. Enable Remain Anonymous to make an admin invisible. These admins can’t be seen in the list of members and their messages are sent with the group name and photo instead of their own.

Users in public chats can also post anonymously, sending messages as one of their public channels.

Inline Bots. Many bots support inline requests – so anyone can quickly access them in any chat.

Send images, articles, videos and GIFs by typing @bing, @wiki, @youtube or @gif in the message bar, along with a search term.

Export Chat History. Use Telegram Desktop to make an offline reference copy of single chats or your entire account, including messages and media.

To export an individual chat’s history, in the chat click ⋮ > Export Chat History.

To export several chats at once, go to Settings > Advanced > Export Telegram Data.

Auto-Remove Cached Media. Cached media can be automatically removed from your local storage – with separate settings for Private Chats, Groups and Channels.

Like other settings, you can add exceptions for individual chats – so their cached media is cleared after a different period or never removed.

All media stays in your chats, ready to be re-downloaded at any time. To manage your storage settings and cached media, go to Settings > Data and Storage > Storage Usage.

Quick Share Arrows. Instantly forward posts in channels to multiple chats – with an optional comment.

Twitch Stream Support. Open your favorite streams in Picture-in-Picture mode, so you can chat while you watch 🍿

Voice Messages. Tap the 2X button to change your playback speed, or slide across the message and jump to a specific spot.

Hold to record your message and release to send it. Swipe up to lock recording and go hands-free, which also lets you preview the message. Tap the microphone icon to switch to video recording.

Mute shortcuts. Select a chat on Android or swipe on iOS to quickly enable or disable notifications. Chats can also be muted from their profile, and have custom mute options.

In Chat Settings, Android users can also set a specific action for swiping in the chat list, which includes muting chats.

Secret Chats. Create additional one-on-one chats with your contacts that use end-to-end encryption and are not stored in or synced with the cloud – only locally on the two participating devices.

Secret Chats are device and session-specific, meaning they don’t appear on a user’s other devices, and will be cancelled if one of the participants logs out.

These chats prevent forwarding messages and have extra privacy features – like a self-destruct timer that erases messages after they are read, as well as screenshot alerts on iOS and screenshot blocking on Android. You can identify Secret Chats from the 🔒 icon in the header and on the chat list.

End-to-end encryption is provided by Telegram’s MTProto 2.0 protocol, which has been independently verified by thousands of researchers.

Audio Player. Share music and audio files, each up to 2 GB in size. Sending multiple tracks in one message will create a playlist – tapping one song will add them all to your queue.

The player bar shows what’s playing and lets you quickly pause and resume from anywhere in the app. Tap the player bar to open the full audio player.

In the audio player, you can press and hold on the Next and Previous buttons to fast-forward or rewind. Podcasts and long audio tracks support multiple playback speeds. Tap the artist name to see a list of their tracks from all your chats.

Upload / Download Progress. Follow along as files upload or download in chats, or open the download manager to check on files from all your chats.

Scale Text Size. Increase or decrease the size of message text in Settings > Chat Settings on Android or Settings > Appearance on iOS.

On iOS, users can sync all text to their System setting, or set separate font sizes for chats and menus.

Format Text in Captions. Add emphasis, links and more not only in messages, but also in captions for photos and videos.

Text you type in the message bar instantly converts to a caption when you attach media – and keeps its formatting.

Verified Chats. Public figures and organizations can verify their public channel, group or bot so that users can be sure the chat is official.

Verified chats appear with a special badge in the chat list, chat headers and on their info pages.

Official messages from Telegram, such as service notifications and login codes only come from our verified accounts.