Telegram Web – How to use Telegram for PC or laptop

Telegram is one of the biggest WhatsApp alternative messaging app available, Now you can, Download Telegram for PC and connect with your friends and family that are already using the telegram app

After privacy and data security issues escalated due to WhatsApp’s new privacy policies, Telegram has seen a spike of new users in millions. The flooding of new registrations has positioned the app as the most downloaded application in Google Play Store as well as in App Store pushing TikTok and WhatsApp to the next positions. Though the users preferred Signal for secured communication, Telegram, with its interesting and easy-to-understand user interface and features attracted more users and crowned it #1 in the app downloads.

This migration has raised new doubts regarding the web version of the messaging app which has become a mandate for day-to-day personal and business communication needs since WhatsApp.

Telegram software comes in two versions when you want to use it on your desktop or laptop. One is that you can use it on the browser and another one is through a standalone app for the concerned platform.

The web version of the telegram is useful when you don’t want to install any new apps on your computer that consumes extra memory, or when you are using your friend’s or office computer.

You can have any number of instances of telegram web running on one computer or multiple computers.

The standalone app has its benefits like fast loading, system notifications, and calling features. My preference would go with a standalone app as it has the calling feature also. WhatsApp web on the other hand is rumored to be introducing it anytime soon.

Before you got to know how to use telegram web as well as a standalone app on your computer, let me take you through the basic differences between telegram and WhatsApp.

Difference between WhatsApp and Telegram

Phone number – To text someone on WhatsApp, you need their phone number. The scenario is different on telegram. You can just give them a username which protects the privacy of sharing a phone number. In addition to that, your phone number can be hidden from the other users chatting with you on the app which is not possible on WhatsApp.

File transfer – File transfer on WhatsApp restricts you with a 16MB cap for each file but telegram allows you to send files up to 1.5GB. This huge difference is tempting users to migrate to the telegram, to be specific about the features.

Multi-device support – You can use telegram web on multiple browser windows and standalone apps, unlike WhatsApp. This feature is useful when you are using multiple computers for work and still want to keep the messenger opened.

Powerful groups – Groups on telegram give more control and power to the admins. Admins can restrict a particular person not to text or give special permissions for sending multimedia. Comparatively, with WhatsApp, telegram groups are way ahead with outstanding features.

Chat folders – The telegram app on the computer allows you to create chat folders to organize chats. You can create custom folders adding different groups and contacts to the folder for focusing on conversations.

Chat migrate – You can migrate your WhatsApp chats over to telegram without any loss of messages from your previous chats. Telegram is rolling out these features for all users globally which leave no option not to be tempted to shift.

How to use Telegram web?

Using telegram on the web is similar to that of WhatsApp, but is much better. The QR code scanning procedure is replaced with the login code process. It allows you to login into multiple windows or devices at a time with different login codes. Following is the process of how you can set up your telegram web on your browser.

Step 1: Go to https://web.telegram.org/ and enter your country code and phone number with which you have registered your account and click ‘Next’.

Step 2: Confirm the phone number before you request for login code. You will receive a code valid for one login.

Step 3:  Entering the code in the browser prompt will authenticate the login and display the whole web interface with the history of all chats from the phone.

The telegram web lacks crucial features like voice calling from a PC. If you want to call someone from your computer through telegram, you have to install the PC or Mac version of it.

How to use Telegram on PC or Mac?

The best way to use telegram on PC is through a standalone app. You can download telegram for Windows 10 or Mac from https://telegram.org/ and install it like normal software.

#1: Open the application and click on the ‘Start Messaging’ button.

#2: Enter the country code and phone number and wait for the login code.

#3: Enter the login code and the session starts. You do need to log in every time you open the app

Once you log in with a code from a browser or a device, the telegram remembers the device as an active session and the currently active sessions will be shown in security settings with full controls over the access authorization.

You can terminate the session whenever you want. The timestamps on the sessions will give a clear idea of which one to be terminated and which one to keep active.

Security tip: If you are using telegram web on others’ computers, do not forget to terminate the session when you are leaving. Closing the browser or shutting down the computer won’t terminate it automatically. The situation is the same with the telegram app for PC also.

The interface of the app on the computer is as same as it is on a phone. It has all the necessary controls to chat with your friends and family without any issues.

I prefer the Telegram software over WhatsApp on my laptop for personal and work chats.

The custom chat folders option allows me to differentiate the chats from work to personal and keeps me aware of the actions to be taken.

With this I can avoid mis-tapping notifications I shouldn’t be opening during off-work hours.

Conclusion:

Telegram is evolving and could replace WhatsApp very soon. The unexplored features on telegram will make users fall for it so hard while WhatsApp takes ages to introduce them.

However, the privacy concerns with WhatsApp are scaring users although the official announcements from the company are assuring the end-to-end encryption and privacy over texts exchanged.

You can even migrate your chats from WhatsApp without losing a message.

Do you see any other reason not to shift yet?

Comment your opinion below.