A few Telegram’s capabilities provide anonymity by concealing personal mobile numbers from users who are not added to the application. With the latest upgrade, Telegram users will now be able to conceal their phone numbers from other users.
Users will be required to acquire a “blockchain-powered anonymous number” from Fragment, a decentralized auction site developed by Pavel Durov, the inventor of Telegram. The platform provides identities and anonymous phone numbers that are exclusive to the Telegram app and online service. Additionally, Fragment buying will be done using Telegram’s native Token, The Open Network (TON).
Users are allowed to purchase an anonymous phone number for $16 or 9 TON. After purchasing a number, clients will be able to utilize it after completing an OTP-based verification procedure. The latest version also adds an auto-delete option to the application, allowing users to establish an international timeframe to remove all texts in new conversations automatically. This is an upgrade to the 2013 version of the self-terminating message update.
Notably, the auto-delete function will not effect current conversations, but then users can quickly extend your auto-delete options to any of those using the latest menu in Settings > Privacy & Security > Auto-Delete Messages. While the network offers users privacy, some critics are suspicious about the technology. As Telegram’s in-house token is the only choice for purchasing the number, the whole transactional chain is tied to the person’s ID, so revealing their identification.
Experts argued that Telegram may have enabled users to join up utilizing an email address in order to protect their privacy and avoid revealing their wallet IDs when purchasing anonymous phone numbers.