Feature tour

Everything Telegram can do, at a glance

Telegram is far more than a chat app. This page walks through every major feature — cloud sync, encrypted Secret Chats, supergroups, bots, calls, big-file sharing, stickers and privacy controls — with screenshots and short explanations.

Download Telegram →Getting started guide

Telegram running on laptop, phone and tablet showcase

Core features

Six pillars every Telegram user relies on

Cloud chats that follow every device

Regular Telegram chats live in the cloud, so your entire history reappears the moment you sign in on a new phone, laptop or browser. There is no need to migrate anything by hand.

Telegram Secret Chat encryption illustration

Secret Chats with end-to-end encryption

When a conversation must never touch the cloud, start a Secret Chat. Messages, media and voice notes are encrypted device to device with optional self-destruct timers.

Channels for one-to-many broadcasting

Grow public or private channels with unlimited subscribers, schedule posts in advance, and add reactions, polls, discussion groups and paid subscriptions on top.

Telegram supergroup with topics and moderation tools

Supergroups with pro moderation

Groups scale up to 200,000 members and can be split into topics, forums and threads. Admins get slow mode, banned-word filters, anti-spam bots and detailed audit logs.

Telegram voice and video call quality illustration

Voice and video calls that scale

One-to-one HD calls, group video calls with screen sharing, and voice chats that host thousands of listeners inside channels and communities.

Bots, mini apps and workflows

Bots are first-class Telegram citizens: booking, translations, payments, moderation, games and now full-fledged mini-apps that run inside the chat window.

Deep dives

The polish that makes Telegram feel different

Beyond the big features, Telegram is packed with small touches that show up every day: fast search, expressive stickers, readable themes and thoughtful chat organisation.

Files up to 4 GB, quality intact

Attach any document up to 4 GB per file — uncompressed 4K clips, project archives, disk images. Telegram keeps them cached in the cloud so anyone in the chat can grab a copy months later.

Stickers, emoji packs and reactions

Millions of sticker packs and custom emoji live inside Telegram. Reactions on messages come with subtle animations, and every group can add its own branded stickers.

Search, folders and pinned chats

Organise conversations with folders, pin your most important chats to the top and search across all messages, media and links with sub-second speed on any device.

Themes and per-chat customization

Set global light and dark themes or apply a unique color palette per conversation. Wallpapers, corner radius and accent color are all under your control.

Feature matrix

What ships on every Telegram build

Feature parity across Telegram apps is very high. Some things — like Secret Chats — are intentionally mobile-only, and a couple of niceties depend on the operating system.

Telegram feature parity across Windows Mac phones

Feature	Windows	macOS	Android	iOS	Web
Cloud chats	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Secret Chats	—	—	✅	✅	—
Voice calls	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Video calls	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
4 GB file uploads	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Biometric app lock	—	Touch ID	Fingerprint	Face ID	—
Widgets	Taskbar	Menu bar	Home Screen	Home Screen	—
Auto updates	Built-in	Built-in / App Store	Play / APK	App Store	Instant