Working with Messages

Restrictions for Messages

Is There a Character Limit for Messages?

Yes, one message can contain no more than 4096 characters. A longer message is automatically split into several parts; formatting is preserved.

Can I Broadcast My Location in Real Time?

No, you cannot. You can only send a static geotag: the recipient will receive a fixed point on the map. Live location sharing is not planned for now.

Formatting for Messages, Replying & Quotation

How to Reply to a Message or Quote Part of It?

Open the message context menu with a long press or right-click. In it, you can reply to the entire message or quote it — in the original chat or privately to the sender.

Message quoting is available in the web/desktop app and on Android starting from version 3.68, and on iOS from version 3.69.

How to Format Message Text?

You can format message text in the app in three ways:

• through the context menu of the selected text
• using regular keyboard shortcuts (e.g., Ctrl+B, Ctrl+U on Windows)
• markup characters — the app supports a subset of the Markdown language (“markdown”).

What Markdown Formatting Is Supported?

Style	Notation
Bold text	**bold text**
Italic text	*italic text*
Bold italic	***bold italic***
Bulleted list	* 1st item * 2nd item * 3rd item
Strike-through text	~~strikethrough~~
Code block without language specification	``` code ```
Inline code	`inline code`
Links	[link text](www.example.com)

How to Set a Tag, Reference a Chat, or Mention a User or a Bot?

Element	Notation
Tags	#tag
Chat/channel reference	##chat/channel name
Mentions	@chat member @All (notify all members) @@non-chat member

Why Doesn’t a Link to a Local File or Network Folder Become Clickable?

This is a security restriction, and there are no plans to remove it. A link from a message must not launch programs on the recipient’s computer or open their files — otherwise a malicious message would gain access to the local file system. Such addresses (for example, those starting with file:///) remain plain text: the path can be copied from the message and pasted into the file manager manually.

How Do Mentions of Users and Bots Work?

• A mention with a single @ symbol will notify the user, even if they have disabled notifications in the chat or discussion. Only chat members can be mentioned. This works as a direct reference to a bot or user.
• A mention with two @@ symbols sends a contact or mentions a user in the context of a conversation. The mentioned user will not receive a notification, but the recipient will be able to open the contact card and message them. Using @@ , you can mention even those who are not in the chat. A contact is searched for in the same way as in the Contacts section, so you can mention a user from a trusted server or from a shared chat. The chat or channel administrator can add the mentioned user to the member list via the context menu.
• You can't mention yourself with a single @ character: your own name isn't in the suggestion list. You can mention yourself only with two characters @@ — your contact card will be inserted into the message.
• In channels, single mentions are disabled by default. In channel settings, you can enable them only for admins or for everyone. @All mentions and double mentions in channels are not supported.
• The @All mention does not work in chats and discussions with more than 256 members. If there are fewer members, the mention will work.

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Why Doesn’t the @ Mention Icon Go Away Even Though I Opened the Original Chat?

If you were mentioned in a thread, the icon won't disappear until you open the thread itself. Go to the chat, find the message that started the thread, and open it. For mentions in the chat itself, it is enough to tap Mark as read in the chat context menu.

Editing, Deleting, and Forwarding Messages

To edit, delete (for yourself or for all members), or forward a message:

• in the web or desktop version of the app, right-click the message and select a command from the context menu;
• in the mobile versions of the app, press and hold your finger on the message to open the context menu.

How to Delete or Forward Multiple Messages?

In the context menu for one of the messages, choose the command you want. Then click other messages to select them: a border will appear around the selected ones.

In the desktop or web app, you can flag messages with check boxes. Checkboxes will appear in the chat window if you collapse the chat list using the arrow in the lower-left corner (above the version) or expand the application window — set fullscreen or slightly wider. Use the check boxes to mark the messages you want to forward.

How to Forward a Message to a Thread?

In the chat search field for forwarding, enter the name or part of the name of the parent chat or channel where the discussion was created. To find a thread faster, click the button next to the search field and select the “Threads” tag. If the thread is in a channel, first subscribe to the comments: without subscription, it will be impossible to forward the message there.

Who Can Delete and Edit Messages?

In group chats and their discussions, an administrator (user or bot) can delete any messages for all members without time restrictions. They can edit only their own messages within 48 hours. In channels and the discussions in them, the channel administrator can delete and edit their own messages without time limits. They delete and edit messages from other channel administrators in the same way if end-to-end encryption is disabled in the channel. Messages forwarded to a channel from other users cannot be edited, either when forwarding or after sending.

Are Editing and Deleting Time-Restricted?

A regular chat member and participants in its discussions can edit and delete their own messages for everyone within 48 hours of sending. In channels and their discussions, regular members (subscribers) cannot write messages.

Can I Replace a Sent Image or File?

Yes, for now only in the Android app since version 3.75. A sent image, video or file can be replaced with another image, video or file within 48 hours after sending. Contacts, polls and locations can't be replaced. An image and a video can also be edited. The message will be marked “edited”.

Recipients see the new attachment in all apps, including those where replacing the attachment is not yet possible.

Anyone who has permission to edit this message can replace the attachment. The permissions are the same as for editing text.

Press and hold the attachment, then tap the edit button on the panel at the top of the screen. For an image or video, choose Replace media or Edit; for a file, Replace document.

You can replace any attachment in the album. If you replace an attachment with a document or add text to an attachment that is not the first in the album, the album will be split.

In the iOS app, web app, and desktop app, you can't replace a sent attachment yet.

Can't Forward a Message. Why?

Forwarding may be restricted by the settings of the role model or CDTN.

Why Can't a Channel Administrator Edit a Message From a Bot?

This is a technical limitation: a message from a bot is a different type than user messages. It can contain buttons, a keyboard, and other elements.

Can Someone See the Content of a Message Deleted for Everyone or in Confidential Mode?

No, you cannot. The server irreversibly destroys the content of such messages, and you cannot view it.

Message Drafts

Drafts of unsent messages are synchronized across devices and stored on your server. ⚠️ Attachments are not saved in drafts.

Pinning a Message

Any chat member or channel administrator can pin one message to the top.

Is It Possible to Pin Multiple Messages?

Not yet.

Who Can Unpin a Message?

A message can be unpinned or replaced by another pinned message by an administrator participant or the participant who originally pinned the message.

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Message Delivery and Read Statuses

To see who the message was delivered to or who has read it:

1. Open the message context menu on a PC or press and hold your finger on the message on a mobile device. Click the three-dot button or the More item.
2. Select Message info (Info).

Why Don’t I See the Message Info Option?

This feature is not available in channels or in group chats with more than 256 participants.

The “Received” Mark Has Disappeared From the Message Status. Why?

The Received mark refers to those who received the message but have not read it yet. Once all participants have read it, the mark is removed and Read remains.

Reactions to Messages

You can add multiple reactions to messages in chats and channels using the emoji palette. The administrator of a group chat or channel can customize whether reactions can be added and which reactions are available.

Can I Add My Own Emojis or Images to the Reaction Palette?

No, you cannot. The set of built-in emoji for reactions is planned to be expanded.

Why Can’t I See Who Added a Reaction in a Channel?

Reactions cannot be viewed in channels.

Can I Set a Default Reaction?

Yes. In the app for iOS and Android starting with version 3.69 and in the server software starting with version 3.68, you can customize a default reaction: it is set by double-tapping a message. Open Settings > Chat and channel settings.

Stickers

The app includes built-in sticker packs. The administrator of the corporate server can create additional sets.

How to Add More Stickers?

You can add stickers in three ways:

1. Through a sticker sent by someone in the chat: click on the sticker to add the pack to your collection. This method is available to all users.
2. Lite

   CTS

   eCTS
   Through a special “Sticker Bot”. It also transfers stickers from Telegram, except animated ones. If the bot is not in the corporate chat catalog, your organization's server administrator installs it in the Bots section. Contact them through your organization's support.
3. CTS

   eCTS
   Create your own sticker pack via the server admin panel in the Stickers section. To do this, contact your corporate server administrator.

Who Can See the Sticker Pack I Published

A published pack is available to users of your corporate server. It will not appear on other corporate servers, even if you send a sticker in a shared chat with their employees — they will only have access to the sticker itself in the message.

Packs that should be available to all employees of the organization are created by the corporate server administrator.

Voice Messages

In the app, you can send voice messages, control the playback speed while listening, and fast-forward through a recording.

When you start a voice message, a player appears. In it, you can pause and resume playback, jump to the message itself in the chat, select the speed — 1x, 1.5x, 2x, or 3x — and close the player.

How Do I Listen to Several Voice Messages in a Row?

Voice messages in the same chat play one after another. The player is visible both in the chat list and in the open chat. If you close the player, playback stops, but the position where you stopped is saved while you remain in that chat. The selected speed is remembered even after the app is restarted.

Can I Get the Text of a Voice Message or Download It as a File?

No, these features are not available yet.

Video Notes

A video note is a short video message that is displayed in the chat as a round element. It works like a voice message: it is recorded with the same button, played with the same player, and stored in the same shared files section of the chat.

How Do I Record and Send a Video Note?

1. Tap the icon to the right of the input field to switch it from microphone to camera. The selected mode is remembered and then used in all chats.
2. Hold the icon while recording, or swipe up — then recording continues without holding.
3. Release the icon to send the note; in the no-hold mode, tap the send button. Swipe left to cancel the recording.

The front camera records, and you can switch it to the main camera; light and pinch-to-zoom are available. Recording stops and is sent automatically at the 60th second or if you collapse the app or rotate the screen. Voice messages behave the same way.

How Do I Watch Video Notes?

In an open chat, notes play automatically and without sound as you scroll through them. When you tap a note, it expands and plays with sound. Then the next note or voice message in this chat starts automatically: they play in a single queue in the shared player. The speed selected in the player, 1x–3x, also applies to notes.

If you leave the chat while viewing or scroll through the conversation, the note will remain on the screen in a minimized form. You can drag it anywhere, pause it by pressing, and remove it by swiping to the side. When paused, you can seek using the circular bar around the note.

What Else Should I Know About Video Notes?

• You can forward, delete, save, reply to, react to, and create discussions from video notes — just like with regular messages.
• You cannot add a caption to a video note: a video message has no text part.
• During a call, you can neither record nor play a video note — the app will prompt you to leave the call first.
• In the chat's shared files, video notes are stored together with voice messages on the Voice messages tab.
• If your organization's server administrator has prohibited you from sending videos, you cannot record a video note — the restriction also applies to them. This restriction is set by the Sending/forwarding attachments in chats is not allowed role model rule with the Video attachment type.

What Are the Specifications of a Video Note?

MP4 format (H.264/AAC), 384×384 pixels, 30 frames per second, duration up to 60 seconds. On the server, a video note is stored as a media file — with the same retention period as other media files.

You can record video notes in mobile apps starting from version 3.73 if your organization's server is also updated to 3.73. In the web/desktop app, you can currently only watch them.

Message Search in Chats, Channels, Threads

There are two types of message search in the app. Local search searches within a single chat, channel, or thread. Global search searches with filters by chats, channels, and threads, by sender, and by date sent.

Search Type	How to Open
In a single chat	Open the chat info card > Search (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+F on PC). To find messages from a specific sender or for a period, click the filter button in the search bar. In a group chat or channel, you can select any server user as the sender, even if they are not a member of the chat. In a channel, only the channel administrator selects the sender. The iOS app does not have a filter yet.
Global	Open Settings (avatar button) > Message search. Global search is not yet available in the web/desktop applications.

Message Links

You can create direct links to specific messages:

• Mobile (since version 3.56): long-press the message > (three-dot menu) > Message link.
• Web/Desktop (since version 3.67): open message context menu > Message link.

Why Doesn’t the Message Open From the Link?

The message link only works for those who have access to the source chat — otherwise, the recipient will see “Message is unavailable”.

Can Links Be Opened Outside the App?

Yes. If you open a link outside the app, a choice appears: open the installed app or continue in the browser via the web app.

Why Don’t I See the “Message link” Option?

Maybe copying messages is prohibited in your branded app: with such a prohibition, this feature is also unavailable.

Scheduled Message Sending

You can schedule a message in a chat, channel, or thread for the desired date and time.

App	How to schedule a message
Android, iOS/iPadOS	Type a message, press and hold the send button, select Send later, and set the date and time.
Web, desktop	Type a message, right-click the send button, choose Send later, and set the date and time in the Schedule sending window.

Scheduled messages are collected in the chat card, under Scheduled messages. There you can send a message immediately, reschedule it for another time, edit it, or delete it. You can also write a new scheduled message there.

While there are scheduled messages in the chat, a clock icon is displayed next to the send button. It opens their list.

If you lose the right to write in the chat by the scheduled time, the message will not be sent.

Message Reminders

Reminders are available only in the web and desktop apps. In the message context menu, you can create a reminder for a specific period. There is also a general setting for reminders about unanswered messages in chats. This reminder is delivered even if the message has been read or someone reacted to it. Reminders are visible via the bell button and in in-app pop-up notifications.

Tagging Messages

Your messages can be personally tagged. See “Tags and Tabs”.

PC Keyboard Shortcuts for Working With Messages

Keyboard shortcuts are visible in tooltips for the web and desktop application interface.