Name: Telegram
Rating: 4.2 (13000000 reviews)
Author: Telegram FZ-LLC

Home › App Reviews › Communication › Telegram

4.2

CategoryCommunication

Download1B+

PriceFree

RatedTeen

RequiresAndroid 6.0+

DeveloperTelegram FZ-LLC

Screenshots

About this app

Telegram is what you get when a messenger is built around the cloud rather than the phone. Chats, media, and files up to 4 GB live on Telegram's servers, which means you can log in from any device and find your entire history waiting. Founded by Pavel Durov and now run from Dubai, the service claims close to a billion users and has become the default platform for large public channels, from news outlets to hobby communities.

Its reputation as a private messenger needs qualification. Regular chats are encrypted between your device and Telegram's servers, but the company can technically access them; only opt-in secret chats are end-to-end encrypted, and those work solely between two devices. What Telegram genuinely delivers is speed, an unusually deep feature set, and generous free limits. Whether that trade is acceptable depends on what you use it for.

Following channels and communities

Broadcast channels are Telegram's strongest format. News organisations, developers, and niche communities publish to audiences of millions, and readers can browse without exposing their identity to the channel owner. Groups scale to 200,000 members with granular admin tools.

Moving large files between devices

The Saved Messages chat doubles as a free cloud drive. Send yourself documents, videos, or APKs up to 4 GB and retrieve them from any logged-in device. Plenty of people keep Telegram installed for this alone.

Automating with bots

An open bot API supports everything from reminder bots to full storefronts and mini apps that run inside chats. Power users script notifications from servers and smart-home setups into a Telegram group at no cost.

Cloud sync across unlimited devices

Because history lives server-side, Telegram works identically on phones, tablets, and desktops at the same time, with no primary-device requirement. Sessions are listed in settings and can be terminated remotely, which is worth checking periodically.

Secret chats

Opt-in secret chats use end-to-end encryption via Telegram's MTProto protocol, support self-destruct timers, and block forwarding. They exist only on the two devices that started them, do not sync to the cloud, and are not available for groups.

Channels and supergroups

One-way channels handle broadcasting; supergroups handle discussion, with topics, slow mode, and per-member permissions. Admins get moderation tooling that most rivals reserve for enterprise products.

Premium tier

A monthly subscription raises limits: faster downloads, larger uploads, more pinned chats, voice-to-text transcription, and no sponsored messages in channels. The free tier stays fully usable; Premium mostly removes ceilings rather than gating core functions.

Privacy & Data Safety

Telegram's marketing outruns its cryptography. Default cloud chats are readable by the company in principle, since it holds the keys, and end-to-end encryption is limited to one-to-one secret chats that you must start deliberately. In 2024, following the arrest of founder Pavel Durov in France, Telegram updated its policy to hand over IP addresses and phone numbers of rule-breaking users in response to valid legal requests.

Group chats and channels cannot be end-to-end encrypted at all; assume anything outside a secret chat is accessible to Telegram and, under its current policy, potentially to law enforcement.
Registration requires a phone number, though you can hide it from everyone and use a public username instead. Paid anonymous numbers via the Fragment platform exist but are a niche option.
Contact upload is optional. Decline it and the app still works, found via usernames rather than your address book.
Large public channels display sponsored messages to free users. Telegram says ad targeting is based on channel topic, not on personal data or chat content.

Advantages

Fast, polished client with best-in-class group and channel tools
Free 4 GB file sharing and unlimited cloud storage
Works on any number of devices simultaneously
Phone number can be hidden behind a username

Updates

Telegram ships large feature updates roughly monthly, often announced with detailed changelogs on its blog, plus smaller fixes in between. The pace is unusually fast for a messenger: stories, mini apps, topics, and business tools all arrived within a couple of years. Note that the version on telegram.org sometimes receives features days before the Google Play build clears review.

Mini apps and bot platform expansion, turning chats into a distribution channel for small web apps
Monetisation features including Premium perks, Stars payments, and revenue sharing for channel owners
Incremental moderation and verification changes following regulatory pressure in the EU and France

Editor's Assessment

Our verdict

Treat Telegram as a superb social and broadcasting platform rather than a secure messenger and it rarely disappoints. The apps are quick, the limits are generous, and channels have no real equivalent elsewhere. For genuinely sensitive conversations, start a secret chat or use Signal, where end-to-end encryption is the default rather than a buried option. Enable two-step verification immediately: accounts secured only by SMS codes are a known target for hijacking.

What works

Fast, polished client with best-in-class group and channel tools
Free 4 GB file sharing and unlimited cloud storage
Works on any number of devices simultaneously
Phone number can be hidden behind a username

What to know

No end-to-end encryption by default; secret chats are opt-in and one-to-one only
Company holds the keys to regular chats stored on its servers
Weak content moderation has made the platform attractive to scammers and illegal channels
Phone number still required to create an account

FAQ

Are Telegram messages encrypted?

Partly. All traffic is encrypted between your device and Telegram's servers, but the company retains the ability to decrypt regular cloud chats. Only secret chats, which you must start manually and which work only between two devices, are end-to-end encrypted. Groups and channels never are.

Is Telegram Premium worth paying for?

Only for heavy users. Premium doubles most limits, speeds up downloads, transcribes voice messages, and removes sponsored messages from large channels. Everyday messaging, calls, and file sharing are identical on the free tier, so casual users lose nothing by skipping it.

Why does Google Play mark Telegram as Teen?

Public groups and channels are essentially unmoderated user-generated content, and some host material unsuitable for children. Telegram offers a sensitive-content filter and lets parents disable it, but there are no dedicated child accounts, so younger users need supervision.