Telegram is one of the most popular messaging apps globally, known for its robust privacy features. The app gives users full control over their online status, letting you decide who can see when you’re online and when you were last active. However, there’s an interesting scenario where you might want to track someone’s online presence without revealing yours. Fortunately, with Telegram Premium, this is possible.
In this article, we’ll dive into how Telegram Premium subscribers can track others while keeping their own activity hidden. We’ll also explain how you can check if the other person has restricted you from viewing their status and what it means for your experience on the app.
Why Would You Want to Track Others While Hiding Yourself?
Before we delve into the steps, let’s explore why you might want to track someone’s online activity while keeping your own presence hidden.
- Monitor Conversations: If you’re in a conversation where you don’t want the other person to know when you’re active, but you still want to track their activity, this feature is useful.
- Curiosity: You might just be curious about someone’s activity on Telegram but don’t want to expose your own online habits.
- Avoid Unwanted Attention: Sometimes, it’s best to remain unseen while watching someone else’s presence on Telegram. For example, if you don’t want to seem eager or too available, but you still want to see if someone is online.
While these reasons may vary from person to person, the feature is available to Telegram Premium subscribers, who have more control over their privacy settings.
How Telegram Premium Helps You Track Others
Telegram Premium offers a unique set of features that enhance your experience, and one of them is the ability to track others’ Last Seen and Online status while keeping yours hidden.
Step 1: Subscribe to Telegram Premium
To use this feature, you first need to subscribe to Telegram Premium. The subscription unlocks several advanced features, including tracking others’ activity without revealing your own.
Step 2: Hide Your Last Seen and Online Status
If you don’t want others to see when you are online, follow these steps to hide your Last Seen and Online Status:
- Open the Telegram app on your phone or desktop.
- Go to Settings by tapping the three lines in the top-left corner of the app.
- Select Privacy and Security.
- Tap on Last Seen & Online.
- Choose the Nobody option to hide your activity from everyone.
This will ensure that no one can see when you were last active or whether you’re online.
Step 3: Enable “Everyone” to See Your Status (for Tracking Others)
Now that your own activity is hidden, you can allow “Everyone” to see your Last Seen and Online Status. This step is essential to check if others have restricted you from viewing their status.
- In the Last Seen & Online section, choose Everybody under who can see your status.
- Then, open a chat with the person whose status you want to track.
- If you can see their Last Seen timestamp or their Online Status, it means the user hasn’t restricted you from seeing it.
Step 4: Check for Restrictions on the Other User’s Status
Now that your status is visible to everyone, you can easily check if the other person has restricted their Last Seen and Online Status from you. Here’s how:
- Open a chat with the person you want to track.
- Look for their Last Seen status or Online indicator. If it’s visible, the other user hasn’t restricted you.
- If the status is hidden or shows a vague message like “Recently” or “Last seen a while ago,” it means that person has restricted their Last Seen visibility for you.
Step 5: Revert to Hiding Your Own Status
Once you’ve checked the other user’s activity, you can revert to hiding your own status by changing the setting back to Nobody. This way, you maintain privacy while tracking others.
What Happens If You Don’t Subscribe to Telegram Premium?
If you don’t subscribe to Telegram Premium, you won’t be able to track others’ Last Seen or Online status if you have hidden yours. Essentially, the restrictions apply to everyone, meaning that you can’t see anyone’s activity unless they allow you to.
Telegram’s privacy settings are designed to be reciprocal. If you decide to hide your status, you can no longer view others’ statuses unless they have given you permission. This is why the Telegram Premium feature stands out, as it allows you to bypass this limitation while maintaining your privacy.
What Happens If the Other User Has Restricted Their Status?
If a user has restricted their Last Seen or Online status from you, you will not be able to track their activity, even with Telegram Premium. The ability to track others is only available when they haven’t used Telegram’s privacy features to block you from seeing their status.
Benefits of Telegram Premium for Privacy and Tracking
While Telegram Premium comes with a price, it offers several benefits for users who prioritize privacy or need enhanced features:
- Hide Your Online Status: As already discussed, Premium users can hide their Last Seen and Online Status while still being able to track others.
- No Ads: Premium users get an ad-free experience, which allows for uninterrupted messaging.
- More Storage: Premium users can store up to 4GB of files per message and use unlimited cloud storage.
- Exclusive Features: Telegram Premium also includes exclusive stickers, increased limits for channels and groups, and the ability to customize the app’s interface.
