Don’t have Telegram? WhatsApp with you?

Have you ever been caught with inappropriate messages thanks to messenger apps? Worry not because Telegram has just the type of chat you need. Download it here right now before we proceed.

Just yesterday, according to Social News Daily  the geniuses at Telegram announced that they had passed the 35 million user mark which should have Whatsapp shaking in it’s messaging boots. The growth of the Telegram messenger boomed after Facebook acquired Whatsapp and skeptical people sought elsewhere for a messaging alternative. Thus, on one day when Whatsapp went down, Telegram downloads went up and it has now become a highly popular messaging app for many Android and iOS users.

The reason we’re comparing it to Whatsapp is because it has similar features, even though it’s mainly a blue coloured app compared to Whatsapp that has green tones, and they both use your cellphone number to operate. They have similar functions because apart from sending texts you can send videos, voice notes, documents, photos and many other types of files.

The best part we think is the secret chat option. It has been sworn to be so highly encrypted that Telegram has put out a reward of $200,000 to anyone who can crack it. Computer gurus, get on it!

Here’s how the secret chat works. You have to go to the menu (3 tiny boxes on your top right) on your Telegram app screen and then select “New Secret Chat”. It will then open your contacts list and you can then choose which person you want to have a secret chat with. Note that the other person has to have the app installed on their phone too. Then you can set a timer ranging from 2 seconds to one week.

The messages self destruct immediately the time you’ve set is up. The messages are not saved on Telegram’s servers so they can’t be traced and you can’t forward them either. Totally awesome don’t you think?

If you are using ordinary chat  those messages have their history backed up so you can access them from Telegram’s servers from any device you may use as long as it’s with your cellphone number.

You can even personalize the app by changing the background, the font size and block unwanted users on your chat list.

Telegram has a very good chance of wiping out Whatsapp if it can market itself well thanks to it’s highly fun secret chat feature and its levels of security. Try it out for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments section.

Happy texting!

Pictures courtesy of CatchMyApp, iAppsClub and Google+