Telegram 5.5 Update Lets You Delete Messages Sent by Other Users, Removes 48-Hour Unsend Limit

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Telegram gives users quite a bit more control over their privacy when compared to similar services. Embarrassed about the cheesy message you sent to your crush while you were drunk last night? Don’t worry because the service lets you Unsend it. Want to make sure only certain people can send you messages or see your profile picture? Well, you can do that, too. That’s just scratching the surface, though, because the new Telegram 5.5 update brings to the table even more neat features and improvements, some of which are quite unique.

Permanently Deleted Unwanted Chat Messages Sent by Other Users

The aforementioned feature that lets users Unsend messages was first introduced two years ago and was highly praised by the Telegram community in spite of its limitations. Until recently, the feature had a 48-hour time limit and only worked for sent chat messages. Although still miles ahead of similar features offered by competitors like Facebook, it could obviously have been even better. Luckily, thanks to the latest update, it finally is.

Not only did the Telegram 5.5 update get rid of the 48-hour limit but also made it so that users can now remove both sent and received messages from any private chat. And not just from your own device either. Now when you want to permanently delete a certain message, the app will ask if you want to remove it from the other person’s device as well. This also works when using the Clear History feature, which deletes all chat messages in one fell swoop.

Telegram 5.5 Adds Anonymous Forwarding and a Settings Search Tool

Another very useful feature introduced in Telegram 5.5 is Anonymous Forwarding. This is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Although other users can still forward your messages to someone else, they will no longer include a link that leads back to your account. Your name continues to show up in forwarded messages but other users will not be able to click on it. This option is not turned on by default in Telegram 5.5 but you can easily change that by going to Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Forwarded Messages.

Speaking of changes, Telegram now makes it much easier to quickly find specific settings you want to modify without having to fumble around all the various menus. Simply use the new search function to type in a keyword and the app will display a list of relevant options you can tweak. Moreover, you can also use the search tool to type in questions about certain Telegram features and you will receive answers pulled directly from the service’s FAQ.

Better Emoji Search and Streamed Large GIFs

The Telegram 5.5 update also improved the emoji search function to make it easier to find the exact silly face you need for any given situation. You can type in your keyword in English or a variety of other languages and the app even gives you emoji recommendations while you’re typing a message.

Sent emojis that do not accompany a text message will appear much larger than usual in chat but only on Android for now. This feature will soon be available on Telegram for iOS as well according to the developers.

The 5.5 update also made video messages and large GIFs streamable, which means you can now watch them immediately without first having to wait for the download to be completed.

Jason Moth

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