The whole purpose of a social media platform is to allow more people to connect and communicate virtually, isn’t it? However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all social media users are eager to meet strangers online. Most of us use these platforms to stay in touch with our old friends, relatives, and acquaintances and share our life updates with them.
Different social media platforms also offer us various security and privacy settings to protect their users from strangers.
But what about Telegram? Does it offer the same security to its users as the other platforms?
Many Telegram users have reported that they receive harassing messages from strangers online. Is there a way to prevent that from happening?
That’s what we’re going to talk about in our blog today.
If you’re a Telegram user who wants to prevent unknown numbers from sending them messages, you’re at the right place. If you keep reading, you’ll find how you can fix this problem by following some simple steps.
Can Unknown Users Send You a Message on Telegram?
In order for someone to text you on WhatsApp, they must have your number. On other social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, everyone outside your network can only send you message requests, not straightaway messages. Are you wondering what we’re talking about? Well, these are just examples of how different social media platforms protect the privacy and security of their users.
However, Telegram is different from these platforms in a couple of ways. In order to allow more people to discover each other on this platform, it allows strangers to send each other messages.
However, it doesn’t make Telegram any less secure than the other platforms. While it allows strangers to message you by default, it has also provided all users with a setting that you can customize if you want to stop receiving messages from them.
So, if you’re facing the same dilemma and are here to look for an answer, we’re definitely going to help you with it.
How to Stop Unknown Messages on Telegram (Block Messages from Unknown Users)
Have you been receiving too many messages from people you don’t know on Telegram lately? Well, we can save you from all this hassle in a matter of minutes! Just follow these simple steps, and you’ll never have to worry about unforeseen messages again.
- Open the Telegram app on your smartphone.
- You’ll find three parallel lines drawn on the top left corner; tap on it. You can also swipe right to do the same.
- Towards the bottom of this page, you’ll find Settings. Click on it to view all customizable settings for your account.
- On the Settings page, under your account details, you’ll see all the options to customize and alter your default functions on the app. Find the Privacy and Security on this list, tap on it.
- Select the Phone Number right below the Blocked Users option.
- You’ll find the question: Who can see my phone number? There are three options under it, but the one that has been selected by default is Everybody.
- In order to avoid random people texting you, you can change this setting to My Contacts or even Nobody, if that seems right to you.
- Next, you will see the second question is: Who can find me by my phone number? This option has two choices: Everybody and My Contacts.
- Select the My Contacts and tap on the Right icon at the top to apply changes.
- Go back to the Privacy and Security page and look for Groups optiona and click on it.
- You’ll find a single question on this page: Who can add me to group chats?
- While the answer to this would be Everybody by default setting, all you need to do is check the circle next to My Contacts and save the settings.
You can do the same for Calls, Last Seen & Online, and even your Profile Picture. Just keep in mind what you want to achieve by tweaking these settings, and then act accordingly.
Want to Avoid Being Discovered by Nearby People on Telegram?
Those of you who use Telegram actively must be aware of its People Nearby feature, which allows you to find all the Telegram users within a radius of 3 kilometers. So, if you met someone recently but didn’t take their contact info, you can look them up on Telegram, and if you’re lucky, you two just might find each other again.
Using the People Nearby feature on Telegram is also very straightforward. All you need to do is swipe right to your profile screen and select the People Nearby option. Here, you’ll find the list of every Telegram user who is within your 3 kilometers radius and has made themselves visible.
Final Words:
Today, we’ve discussed how some features on Telegram might seem to hinder the privacy of some users.
However, Telegram has also provided pretty straightforward options to change your settings in order to protect one’s privacy. If our blog has helped solve your problem, please feel free to let us know about it in the comments section.
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