3 Reasons Why Telegram is Awesome

Here's a 19-billion dollar question: what is it about Telegram that makes consumers want to switch from Whatsapp?

Like many early adopters, I installed Telegram just to see if it's worth the switch. Initially, I was somewhat disappointed to see that Telegram GUI is a close copy of Whatsapp, up to the emoticons. But as the days go by, I come to appreciate the changes.

Here are the 3 reasons why I think Telegram is awesome.

It's Like Whatsapp

It looks and uses the same way as Whatsapp, the most popular messenger, which means it's easy to sign up using just your mobile number and there is zero learning curve. In addition, Telegram provides feature improvements, some of which Whatsapp would probably replicate to remain competitive. For instance:
- Customise individual notification and sound setting for each group.
- See the number of friends online in a group session.
- Send large files.
- Make "secret" conversations that are encrypted and can be set to self-destruct, just like Snapchat. I can set timer of 2s, 5s, 1 min, up to 1 week. The self-destruct timer starts only when the recipient opens the chat session, so you won't miss any chats even if the timer is short.

Chat Simultaneously On Multiple Devices

Telegram has the ability to traverse the chat sessions across multiple devices. This means I can start a chat on my mobile, then pick it up from my desktop, and continue on my tablet. This also means I do not need to painstakingly transfer chat history when I switch devices. But then you ask, doesn't Facebook Messenger do that too? Yes, but Facebook Messenger is an app built for Facebook users, not for mobile users without Facebook. A new user would not want to go through the hassle of creating a Facebook account just to be able to chat. Perhaps, that's the reason Facebook bought over Whatsapp, but oops, Telegram got there first.

Open Source = Exponential Growth Opportunities

One thing that Whatsapp probably cannot copy which Telegram has: open source to allow wide-spread development and integration to other apps freely. This is reason why Telegram is available on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, Windows Phone.

Bonus Reason: It's Named "Telegram"

There is a feeling of nostalgia for using an app named after the oldest form of electronic messaging. Brilliant.


And so you see, Telegram is not just like Whatsapp. It's also got the cross-platform flexibility of Facebook and the self-destruct feature of Snapchat. What are your reasons for using (or switching) to Telegram?

Download Links

Telegram for iOS
Telegram form Android
Other Platforms

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