Telegram has always been the mainstream messaging app of choice for those who aren’t sure about Facebook’s ownership of WhatsApp and Messenger, and today the company has announced more changes to bolster user privacy.
The lead feature of Telegram version 5.5 is the ability to unilaterally delete messages with no time limits. That goes for both messages sent and received for both parties, so you can essentially edit your message history for both you and your chat partner.
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That’s a pretty big change, given it was limited to 48 hours previously, and you can make it even more dramatic if you want: there’s now a ‘clear history’ option, which wipes everything ever said for both users.
Another new feature is anonymous forwarding. This means that if your message is forwarded, you can prevent anyone who receives it seeing where it originated. This can be modified to allow your contacts to see it or for nobody to, depending on your preferences. You can also now make it so only friends can see your profile picture, for that bit more peace of mind.
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“For us, your private data is sacred,” the company wrote in a blog post announcing the changes. “We never use your data to target ads. We never disclose your data to third parties. We store only what is absolutely necessary for Telegram to work.”
Others changes are less significant, but still useful. You can now search the settings, for example, letting you track down these various options more easily. Emoji and stickers get the same enhancement, letting you pick the right whimsical response to any given message.
Does the ability to delete messages for both parties sound like a brilliant feature or something that would be pretty frustrating? Let us know on Twitter: @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
