Frequently asked questions

No. Pingogram is an independent, third-party client made by Kyra Labs. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Telegram. It uses TDLib, Telegram's official open-source client library, and follows the Telegram API Terms of Service, so it works with your normal Telegram account.

Pingogram connects to Telegram the same way the official apps do, through TDLib, so your messages are encrypted in transit by Telegram's MTProto protocol. On your phone, the local database is encrypted with a key protected by the Android Keystore, and Android backups are turned off for the app. The app has no analytics, ads, crash reporting or telemetry, and all of its code is public, so anyone can check it. Release APKs are signed by Kyra Labs, and the download page explains how to check a download before you install it. Pingogram is still a beta, though: keep the official app or another client at hand for anything important.

On Telegram's servers, like with every Telegram app, and in a local, encrypted copy on your phone that TDLib keeps so the app is fast and works offline. Kyra Labs has no servers that see your messages. Secret chats, once Pingogram supports starting them, exist only on the device. The privacy policy has the details.

Because Android has a design language of its own, and Pingogram follows it all the way: Material 3 Expressive, with Google Sans Flex, expressive shapes and spring motion, dynamic color from your wallpaper, and layouts that adapt from phones to tablets and foldables. It is written from scratch in Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, it has no analytics or telemetry, and it is open source.

Yes. You sign in with your phone number, or by scanning a QR code with another device where you are signed in, and all your chats are there. If you don't have an account yet, you can create one in the app.

Not fully yet. Secret chats show in your chat list with a lock, and you get notifications for new ones, but you can't start one yet. Starting and accepting secret chats, with self-destruct timers, is planned for a later milestone.

Not yet. Voice calls are planned; until then, use another Telegram app for calls.

It depends on the build. The plain build gets new messages while Pingogram is running. To get them when it is closed, turn on Settings → Notifications → Keep connected: Pingogram then stays connected in the background, with a quiet notification, and uses some more battery. It is off by default, because Android otherwise stops background apps after a while. The builds with "-gms" in their names use Google's push service instead, so messages arrive even when the app is closed, with no extra battery cost from staying connected. Pingogram never polls and never asks to be exempt from Android's battery optimization.

Because it isn't finished. Everyday messaging works: chats and folders, replies, reactions, media, voice messages, stickers, notifications and settings. Profiles, group management, starting secret chats and calls are still to come. Every release before 1.0 is a pre-release. The features page lists what works today and what comes next.

Open an issue with the bug report form on GitHub. Include the version (in Settings → About), your device and Android version, and what you did. Please don't attach screenshots of private chats or phone numbers. Security problems go to private vulnerability reporting instead.

Pingogram is open source under the GPL-3.0-or-later. You can report bugs, suggest features, test beta releases and send code. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md; every commit needs a sign-off (git commit -s). See Open source for how to build the app.

English for now. The Settings → Language page is ready, and Pingogram follows your phone's language once translations arrive. Text and layouts in right-to-left languages, such as Arabic or Hebrew, already read in their own direction. Translations are planned before 1.0.

Yes. Pingogram has its own app ID, so it installs alongside other Telegram apps. Each app is its own session in your account.

Android 8.0 or newer, on a phone, tablet, foldable or Chromebook with an ARM or x86_64 processor.

Not yet. Both are planned. For now, every release is on GitHub Releases, and the download page explains which file to pick.