Business communication has evolved far beyond the days of inbox overload, missed calls, and printer-jammed office memos. While email and phone calls still have their place, modern teams are turning to faster, more dynamic platforms to stay connected. Enter messenger apps: tools built for real-time collaboration, streamlined updates, and community-building at scale.
One standout in this space is Telegram, a messaging app with more than one billion active users worldwide. Originally known for its security and speed, Telegram has grown into a flexible communication hub used by everyone from remote work teams to global brands and independent creators. Its features go well beyond basic messaging, offering channels, bots, file sharing, and community management.
So, how can you use Telegram to connect with your team, engage your audience, and elevate your brand presence? Let’s explore what Telegram is used for and how to make the most of it for your business.
What is Telegram?
Telegram is a cloud-based, encrypted instant messaging and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service that emphasizes speed and security.
Its flagship product is its popular messaging app, which allows users to send messages, place voice calls, share files, make video calls, and create public or private communities. You can install the Telegram app on multiple devices and it’s compatible with multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.
Key features of Telegram
Telegram users have access to a broad slate of features on the platform. These include:
Privacy and security features
You can message other users without sharing your name, phone number, or other personal information. You can also send fully encrypted messages, including those that self-delete once the recipient reads them.
Cloud storage
Unless you want messages deleted, Telegram’s cloud stores all regular chats and media so you can access messages from multiple devices simultaneously without needing to back up your chats.
Encrypted chats
Telegram offers encryption on all messages sent via the platform, with varying degrees of security. For example, it holds the encryption keys to regular chat messages in transit between your device and Telegram servers and can technically access those messages. It also offers end-to-end encryption for secret chats, which only the sender and recipient can read, and which cannot be forwarded.
Support for large group chats
Telegram allows users to create groups and channels with as many as 200,000 members. This allowance exceeds that of most other services, and it means even large corporations can use Telegram to transmit secure messages to everyone in the organization. Telegram groups come with administrative tools, including content moderation, pinned messages, and user permissions—much like those you’d find on social media platforms.
Broadcast channels
If you want to reach a broader audience, you can create a Telegram channel. Channels let you broadcast messages to an unlimited number of subscribers. Only channel administrators can post, but you can grant commenting privileges to anyone with a Telegram account.
Large file transfer
Telegram allows its users to send files as large as two gigabytes. This size allowance is much larger than what many other messaging apps provide, letting you leverage Telegram Messenger much like you would a regular email service.
Video and voice calling
Telegram users can make encrypted voice and video calls, making it an alternative to traditional phone calls or video chat services like Zoom.
Voice chats
Telegram offers live voice chats within groups and channels, allowing participants to speak and listen in a broadcast-like setting. Group chats cap out at 200,000 members, but channel broadcasts can reach unlimited audiences of Telegram users.
Telegram bots
Telegram offers an open bot application programming interface (API). This means you can create a Telegram bot for everything from ecommerce customer support to interactive gaming.
Telegram vs. WhatsApp
If you need a messaging application for your business, Telegram is far from the only game in town. The most popular standalone messaging app is WhatsApp. Owned by Meta, which also owns Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp has nearly three billion users, more than two billion of whom are regularly active on the platform. Telegram has roughly half that.
If you’re considering using Telegram or WhatsApp—or a combo of both—for your business, it helps to know how the two compare:
Default encryption
A regular Telegram chat is cloud-based and encrypted client-server/server-client. End-to-end encryption is only available using Telegram’s Secret Chats function. In WhatsApp, all messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted by default, meaning only the sender and recipient can read them.
When comparing the two platforms, a normal chat in WhatsApp comes with more standard encryption; however, a Secret Chat in Telegram offers heightened security (including auto-deletion) that few other apps can match.
Cloud storage
When you use Telegram, its servers store all your regular chats and media. This facilitates seamless access across all your different devices, with no need for manual backups. WhatsApp, on the other hand, ties most storage to a user’s primary device (typically a mobile phone). You can back up messages to third-party cloud services like Google Drive or Dropbox, but WhatsApp doesn’t natively sync messages in its own cloud servers.
Multi-device support
Telegram is known for its multi-device, multi-platform support. There’s a desktop version designed for Mac and Windows machines and a mobile version designed for iOS and Android phones. When you’re logged in to Telegram on multiple devices, your chats sync in real-time, independent of your primary phone’s online status. WhatsApp lets you link up to four devices without your primary phone being online, but troubleshooting forums report that the service works best when your primary phone is online.
Group size limit
Telegram can enable large group chats; up to 200,000 Telegram users can be in the same thread or channel. WhatsApp caps chat participants at 1,024.
Support for bots
Power users can create bots and API on both platforms to unlock custom functionality. Telegram offers developers wide latitude, and developers have responded by releasing highly functional Telegram bots for automation, games, payments, and software integrations. WhatsApp’s support for bots and API is more limited, and you may need to leverage third-party software to fully integrate a WhatsApp bot or API with other business software.
How businesses use Telegram
Telegram can be a powerful platform for business communication, marketing, and customer engagement. Here are some ways your organization can potentially use Telegram to streamline workflows and connect with large audiences:
Customer support
Telegram enables real-time customer service through private chats, Telegram groups, and chatbots. Using Telegram’s open bot API, you can build automated bots to answer FAQs, manage simple requests, or escalate issues to human agents. These bots can provide customers with tailored responses by connecting to your business databases and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
A Telegram bot can also assist with order tracking, appointment scheduling, and even internal troubleshooting. Not only is it helping your customers, it can also ease workflows for your team.
Reach and exposure
Telegram is built for scale, making it ideal for mass audience engagement. Telegram groups support up to 200,000 members, which you can use for gathering user feedback, building communities, or running beta tests. Or you can use Telegram channels for broadcasting messages to unlimited audiences. Channels are a good tool for product announcements, content updates, and brand storytelling. This is similar to running ads on a traditional social network.
Telegram’s scheduled messaging feature allows you to plan posts in advance. You can leverage this feature to turn Telegram into a real-time newsletter delivery platform. Compared to email, you might even experience higher open rates due to the direct nature of messenger communication.
Selling on Telegram
While it’s not a direct ecommerce platform in the vein of Shopify, Telegram facilitates sales through various indirect and integrated methods. To capture the attention of potential clients, establish a well-optimized Telegram profile for your business. Create official channels or groups to broadcast marketing messages. For instance, you could tease a new product launch, offer exclusive access to members of your team, and host live Q&A sessions.
You can also pepper your channels with direct links to product pages in your ecommerce store. And because Telegram bots can be integrated with payment systems, you could even process ecommerce payments directly within the app. This creates a streamlined purchase experience and reduces friction that might stand between you and a sale.
Ads on Telegram
Telegram now has its own in-house ad platform that focuses on sponsored messages inside large public channels. Users see such ads in relevant channels they already follow, which helps establish a non-intrusive, targeted experience. You can tailor your ads to drive brand awareness, generate clicks, or suggest Telegram channel subscriptions, all without siphoning Telegram users’ personal data.
Telegram’s ad platform is still evolving, and it lacks the features offered by advertising giants like Google and Meta. As Telegram’s ad tools evolve, it may prove to be a valuable online service for ecommerce sellers.
Is Telegram safe?
Telegram is generally safe for most users, thanks to its use of encryption, decentralized data centers, and privacy-friendly design. However, Telegram has dealt with accusations of illegal content that seems to flourish more on the platform than it does on other apps. This includes scams, the sale of illicit drugs and weapons, and harmful content appearing on the platform.
In 2024, the company’s CEO, Pavel Durov, was arrested for alleged complicity in criminal activity. The company has since shifted gears and now states it will comply with court-issued search warrants and other valid legal requests if a user’s account is suspected of involvement in criminal activities that violate Telegram’s Terms of Service.
With that said, the majority of the platform’s user base utilizes it for legal and legitimate activities, whether that’s messaging friends, promoting a business, or communicating with work teams. To make it safer for you and your business, enable privacy tools like Secret Chats, don’t accept messages from users without a profile photo, only join groups where you know other members, and enable security settings like two-factor authentication. As with any public profile, be mindful of what publicly visible information you post, as this data can be harvested by malicious actors.
What is Telegram used for FAQ
What do most people use Telegram for?
Most users utilize Telegram for instant messaging, joining interest-based groups, following broadcasting channels, and sharing media or files securely across multiple devices.
Is Telegram a secret chat?
Telegram offers the ability to host a Secret Chat, replete with auto-deleting messages and anti-screenshot coding.
Why would a company use Telegram?
A company might choose to use Telegram to broadcast updates, engage with large communities via Telegram Channels, provide customer support, and automate both internal and external communication through bots.
