`As most messaging apps aren’t as secure as their advertising makes out, privacy-centered apps like Telegram are gaining popularity. Telegram lets you talk to people in secret conversations without the risk of eavesdroppers. Somewhat like certain apps, you can send expiring photos to friends.
The main difference is Telegram doesn’t officially have such a feature, but you can still do it. Below are the instructions, and you’ll find that it’s a straightforward process. Read on to find out more.
How To Send Self Destructing Photos
Telegram has a feature called Secret Chat, which offers end-to-end encryption communication with another person. If you delete a Secret Chat, everything on it will disappear if it hadn’t already.
The steps vary between smartphone operating systems. Here are the instructions for iPhone.
- Launch the iOS Telegram app.
- Look for any of your contacts.
- Tap on their profile picture and select “More.”
- Go to “Start Secret Chat.”
- Confirm your decision.
- Once in the Secret Chat, tap on the timer icon and pick a period.
- Send an image.
- The image will disappear after time runs out.
Android users should follow these steps instead.
- Go to the Android Telegram app.
- Choose any conversation.
- Tap on the person’s profile name.
- Select the triple dot icon in the top-right corner.
- Pick “Start Secret Chat.”
- Tap on “Start” to continue.
- At the top, select the stopwatch icon and set a time frame.
- Tap “Done” and send the images.
This configuration doesn’t only work for images. The text messages and videos you send will also disappear. The lowest setting is one second, and you can even let the message stay up for a week. After that, it will vanish like it was never there.
What Is End-to-End Encryption?
Usually, apps like Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp allow the platforms themselves to see what you’re sending others. Internet service providers and hackers can also access your conversations.
With end-to-end encryption, the data is transferred from one device to another while preventing third parties from eavesdropping. Only the sender and receiver have the keys to decrypt the messages. Anyone else may be able to see it, but it will be anything but legible.
Malicious hackers may also attempt to alter these messages, but end-to-end encryption makes these tries obvious. This encryption scheme isn’t foolproof, but it does help give users extra privacy measures.
Telegram’s Secret Chats employ end-to-end encryption, so they’re genuinely secret from all but the most advanced hackers and cryptography experts. Your data is usually safe from prying eyes.
Taking screenshots of the content in Secret Chats is possible, but the other person will also be notified. Therefore, you can tell if someone has decided to do so. There’s another way to send expiring photos that don’t require Secret Chat, and we’ll discuss it in the section below.
How To Send Expiring Photos on Telegram Without Secret Chat
Before we start, you should know that these disappearing images and videos are only available for direct messages. You can’t send them in group chats or channels. To tell if the image you’re sent will expire, check if it’s blurred and has a small timer at the bottom.
- On your iPhone, go to the Telegram app.
- Open any conversation and tap on the paper clip.
- Go to “Photo Or Video.”
- Pick any image or video file.
- Tap and hold the arrow icon on the right.
- Select “Send With Timer.”
- Choose a time frame and send the image.
- The image will appear blurred and with a timer, and Telegram will delete it after it’s viewed.
The steps for Android aren’t too different.
- Launch the Android Telegram app.
- Go to any active conversation.
- Tap the three dots and select “Set self-destruct timer.”
- Select the time before deletion and tap “Done.”
- Tap the paper clip icon at the bottom-right corner.
- Select an image or video.
- Next to the “Send” button.
- Send the message.
- Wait for the message to be read and deleted.
Taking screenshots of these images will also result in a notification to the other party. Unlike the messages in Secret Chats, you can only select time frames from one second to one minute. The timer doesn’t start immediately, only after the recipient decides to view the contents.
For Your Eyes Only
Instead of manually deleting the images you send someone, let Telegram do it for you. You only have to configure the settings before doing that, but it’s a relatively simple affair.
Are there any improvements to Telegram’s Secret Chat you’d like to see? What do you think about expiring images? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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