How to create a Telegram account

It would hardly be possible to find a smartphone user having just one instant messenger on it. It is more naturally for anyone to have several messengers, just because people have different preferences. Thus, one might need different tools to reach contacts from the phone book.

Telegram is one of new instant messengers with the VoIP service support which came into prominence in the last five or so years. Like many other products of the kind, it was launched as a mobile app and added more versions for all platforms later. Due to the speed of work, neat interface and some unique features it was the first to implement, it quickly gained worldwide popularity. The stats data claim that by March 2018, this service obtained about 200 million active users every month, and this number continues to grow. If you did not have a chance to try Telegram so far, you can do it — just download the application and register an account. In addition to the rest of its advantages, this product is completely free of charge and does not even earn money by ads shown in the app.

Like it has already been mentioned, it is a cross-platform product, however, you can register Telegram account on a smartphone only. After doing that initial registration, you can install additional copies on other computers or tablets and tie them to the same account.

Creating a new account with Telegram on a smartphone

The process of installing and registering is absolutely the same on Android and iOS.

First of all, get the mobile app, which is available for free at Google Play and App Store. Download it and install on your phone. Open the app and tap the Start Messaging button to initiate the process of making a new Telegram account.

You will have to provide your phone number — it will be used as your login every time when you need to sign in anew, reinstall the application or set additional copy on a new location.

Also, this service will ask you to allow phone calls in the app: it is necessary to verify and activate your Telegram account.

Enter the mobile phone number in international format (with country code).

Then the service will make a test call which you don't need to answer. It usually takes about a couple of moments, and your account will become active.

Enter the name and surname which you are going to use for that account. They will be public, and your friends or other users will be able to find you when searching for the name. But you are not required to provide true details if you don't want that. You can use a nickname.

After that, Telegram will ask for your permission to access the contacts list on your smartphone. If people from your address book also use this messenger, it will find them.

That is all, the setting up process is completed, and you can use this instant messenger to communicate.

Note that besides setting a name and surname, there is an option to add your personal username or “alias”. It will also be public, other users will be able to find you for that alias or you can give them a direct link to open a chat with you. The option will be provided in the Settings menu after you finish the registration.

Name or username which you set up during the registration process are the only public identifiers. No one will be able to know your phone number, it is your internal and strictly personal ID.

And, of course, you can change these details, both the name and phone number, whenever you wish.

Installing Telegram on a desktop computer with the same account

After you create a new account on your smartphone, you can install the desktop application and use this instant messenger on your PC or laptop with the same user ID.

Download the necessary version from the official page (link https://desktop.telegram.org/) and install it on your computer.

When you open the application, you will see the same Start Messaging button as in the mobile app. Click on it.

Enter the same phone number you used for the initial registration of an account. Telegram will send you a login code which you need to enter into this desktop application to get recognized.

By default, the service sends the digit login code into the Telegram mobile app on your phone. However, if you do not have access to it at the moment, you can request sending this code in SMS.

Enter the code into the field, and the service will define you.

In the new desktop application, you will see all your existing contacts from the mobile app and already present chats with their history.

Note that all apps under one Telegram account will be synchronized in getting new messages, all the chats will be updated simultaneously.