Telegram Stickers – The Best Instant Messenger

If you come to this page by searching for Telegram stickers, you might already know what it is.

If now, we have something about it to tell you!

Telegram is an instant messaging application based on cloud. The application is available on most platforms, including PC platforms – Android, Windows Phone, iOS, macOS, Linux and Windows NT.

Apart from text messages or stickers, users can exchange multimedia files as well, including videos and pictures. Just like other text messaging applications, Telegram features a series of stickers and emojis too.

Telegram was created by Pavel Durov – a Russian entrepreneur who also created VKontakte with his brother Nikolai.

The client code is open source, yet most updates come with various changes that are not given out immediately. Overtime, they became open source as soon as all potential bugs were fixed. On the other hand, the server code is closed source.

It's a proprietary code designed by developers, so the app doesn't rely on security protocols used by other similar softwares. Furthermore, Telegram offers APIs to new independent developers.

By the first quarter of 2018, Telegram claimed on over 200 million active users on a monthly basis. Given its yearly growth, the CEO claimed that the app grows with up to 50% every year.

Multiple cryptography and security experts have banished Telegram's proprietary security protocol. The impossibility to check it was the main reason, as no one can tell whether the protocol is safe enough or not. There is no evidence regarding its security and reliability. Other than that, the app stores all the messages and stickers on its own servers, while encryption is not automatic. It must be enabled manually by users, which don't know about this requirement.

The founder claimed these apparent minuses have the primary role to prevent insecure backups from third party apps, but also to let users access their message history on any device. Also, messages are encrypted, as well as the voice calls. The secret chats are not encrypted by default though.

History

Development

Telegram was released in 2013 by the Durov brothers after they left the company behind VKontakte. The Russian social network was taken over by the Mail.ru Group, so the brothers left to focus on other products. Nikolai Durov is the brain behind MTProto – the security protocol that enhances Telegram. Pavel Durov focused on the finances associated with the app, as well as the infrastructure. His Digital Fortress fund helped immensely in the process. While Telegram is not aimed to bring profit, the company running it is established as a for-profit organization.

Telegram is established as an American LLC and an English LLP. The company keeps the office location secret in the attempt to protect the team from negative influences, as well as governmental requests. According to Pavel Durov, the company was based in Berlin, Germany, but it had to move in 2015 because some of the workers failed to get residence permits. While some employees work from St. Petersburg, the core of the company is established in Dubai.

The end of 2017 brought in some rumors regarding Telegram. Several publications claimed that the company was getting ready to release its own cryptocurrency, as well as a blockchain platform. The news were confirmed in February, 2018, when Pavel Durov established TON Issuer Inc., as well as an ICO (Initial Coin Offering). The new company raised $850M and around $1.7 billion through its ICO. The process is still ongoing. There is no sold proof except for the Forms D filled by Telegram with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Social Numbers

By the end of 2013, Telegram had 100,000 daily users. By the spring of 2014, it had over 15 million daily users as well as 35 million users on a monthly basis. The same year, its popularity skyrocketed after the South Korean government announced surveillance operations. By the end of 2014, Telegram had over 2 billion daily messages and stickers and 1 million new users on a weekly basis.

Every year brought in a significant growth of up to 50%. By the end of March 2018, the company had 200 million users on a monthly basis.

Telegram Stickers and Other Features

Account

Prior to using the application, users are verified by a text message or phone call. Accounts are related to phone numbers. Users are free to add multiple devices on the same account. Also, in case they change their numbers, they only have to update the application. Displaying phone numbers can be restricted if users choose to use aliases. It's an extra feature meant to bring more security.

When not in use for six months, Telegram accounts are automatically deleted. The inactivity time can be personally adjusted between 1 and 12 months. In terms of security, the app also gives users the opportunity to hide the precise last seen time. Instead of displaying the specific time, they can use broad words like “recently”.

Authenticating is a SMS based operation. Pavel Durov recommends setting a password in countries deemed to be unsafe, yet this isn't a requirement.

Cloud Messages

Messages are stored in the cloud, which means users can access them from any device as long as they login. They can share all kinds of files – including videos – as long as they don't exceed 1.5GB in size. Apart from individual messages, users can also create groups. Each group can take up to 100,000 people. Once a message is sent, the sender has the possibility to edit or delete it within 48 hours. Users can correct typos, but also delete messages sent by mistake or to the wrong recipients. All these features are possible through Telegram's MTProto security protocol.

The protocol works like email protocols. The data is encrypted, while the keys are stored in a few DCs established in different locations. This way, no one can access the data.

Bots

Bots are quite common and accepted on Telegram. The company released a platform in 2015. It was created for external developers to design bots. These robots are basically accounts running with predefined software. They automatically reply to messages and have all the facilities of a regular user. Bots are visible and can be recognized. However, they might have some flaws, as they can read and transmit all the information in a channel when the controller changes the access settings. Developers mentioned they would try to fix this issue.

Inline bots represent another category of bots available in Telegram. They can be used to provide information. For example, activating an inline bot implies typing the username and the query. The bot will find the answer and provide relevant content.

Channels

Channels operate like groups. They're created for users to broadcast a particular message to a wider audience. Instead of sending the message to each recipient individually, the user can just use the channel. Channels are free to join – they are public and have permanent URL addresses. Once inside the channel, users can scroll up and see the history as well. Furthermore, messages have counters, so it's easy to tell how many people have read the respective message.

Some of the features associated with channels include muting them, joining or leaving at any random time. When muted, users will still get messages, but they won't get any notifications – helpful in large groups that take lots of conversations.

Also, We just want to let you know that we are going to make a Telegram channel very soon for sharing the best Telegram sticker packs right now.

Telegram Sticker Packs

Stickers are also based in the cloud.

Just like in most other text messaging apps, they consist of multiple images to help users underline their expressions. Even if people type the actual keyboard combination for the emoji, the app offers to send the image instead.

Telegram stickers are available in more sets. Also, users can send multiple stickers at once. There is a default sticker coming with the app. However, most users choose to install additional emojis from third party designers. Once installed on a client, a set becomes available to all the other clients.

On a technical note, stickers in Telegram are designed in the WebP format, one of the most lightweight formats at the moment.

Drafts

Just like in email clients, drafts are unfinished messages. Whether something comes up or the user is undecided about the message, it will be saved as a draft. Once saved, the draft will sync across all the devices connected to the respective account. From this point of view, users can start a message on one device and finish it on another device.

Drafts don't get deleted automatically. Instead, they persist until users send or delete them.

Secret Chats

Secret chats are possible through the MTProto security protocol. These chats are different from regular messages because they're not available on all the connected devices, but only on the one used for communication. They come with the extra feature to destroy themselves after a specific amount of time set by the user.

Starting a secret chat implies sending an invitation for encryption keys to be initiated. There's a security standard users have to go through. They'll have to compare some images and visualize the respective keys. If they're identical, the chat is safe and secure.

Secret chats are not available for channels or groups. They're still not implemented on all the desktop platforms though, but it's a matter of time until they become compatible with any platform.

Voice Calling

Voice calling was introduced in 2017. Voice calls work on the same principles like secret chats, so they're encrypted. When the peer to peer connection is not solid enough for the call, the app will automatically choose the nearest server. Compared to instant messaging, voice calling is still new and still needs improvement. According to the management, there's a team of researchers working on improving quality standards.

Just like most other similar apps, a good connection ensures a clear sound with no lag. However, regular calls become a priority during a voice call. In other words, if someone makes a regular phone and the receiver is on a Telegram call, the initial call will take over and put Telegram on hold.

Video Messaging (Telescope)

Video messaging was implemented soon after voice calling became the norm. It's available through a specific platform operating under Telegram. It's known as Telescope and was introduced in the spring of 2017.

Videos cannot be longer than one minute though. Also, they can be automatically played. Those who post videos in channels should know that there is no privacy. Basically, they can be viewed online on the Telescope website without even having a Telegram account.

Videos sent through private chats or groups are not made public though, so they remain private. Also, just like messages or stickers, they can be later accessed from all the devices associated with the respective accounts. When sent through private chats, they can also be set to self destroy after a particular time frame.

Live Locations

Live locations were introduced in the fall of 2017. Simply put, users can share their live location in a chat. For this setting to be efficient, they'll need to turn the device location on. It may not be extremely accurate on desktops without this feature though.

Live location can be activated for three different time frames – 15 minutes, one hour or eight hours. It can be reactivated again once the time is up. Sharing location can also be ceased at any given time.

When more people share their locations in a group or a private chat, Telegram display an interactive map with all of them. It's a more convenient option to see everyone on the same map, rather than going from one user to another.

Social Logins

Social logins have gained lots of notoriety in the last years and Telegram couldn't stay away from them either. In fact, it's one step ahead of its competition. Most commonly, social logins are implemented by social networks, so Telegram is a pioneer among instant messaging services.

Social logins were introduced in February, 2018. They're based on a widget that can be used on various websites. Users can register and sign in with their Telegram usernames. The website owner will receive basic information only – the username, the name associated with it and the profile picture. Other details stay private, including the phone number.

This feature provides more convenience to both webmasters and their visitors trying to interact, especially those who really want to use the best Telegram stickers while surfing on the Internet.

Conclusion

Telegram is definitely the best instant messenger app for all of the devices right now, from Desktop, Mac to iOS, Android or even Windows Phone.

With lots of the new features being added every month, like the Secret Chats, Video Messaging, the Group system, best Channel rankings, popular GIFs right on the keyboard, and especially Telegram stickers, there is no reason to not download and use it!