Install the client, turn encryption on for a one-to-one conversation, and read what the client is telling you about each message. Every screenshot below is the shipping client — Windows 7.2.6 and Android 12.10.1.
STEP 01
Ecryptgram for Windows 7.2.6 installs next to the official Telegram app without touching it.
Ecryptgram-Setup-7.2.6.exe. Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt
because the build is signed with the project's own certificate — choose
More info, then Run anyway.STEP 02
The lock is the first control in the conversation header, to the left of search and the call buttons. Click it once. It fills red straight away, and the person you are writing to sees the same change at their end.
STEP 03
Once encryption is on, everything you send is marked in the message itself — a small lock to the left of the text, on the photo thumbnail, and on the voice-message player. A voice message with a burn timer also shows the remaining time next to it.
If a message has no lock, it was not encrypted. That happens when the other person is on the official Telegram app rather than Ecryptgram — both ends need to hold the session key.
STEP 04
With encryption on, a clock button appears in the message bar. Click it to open the self-destruct timer, then pick how long a message should live. The message is destroyed on both devices when the timer runs out.
Windows offers ten steps: 1 second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, or Disable.
STEP 01
Ecryptgram for Android 12.10.1 uses a separate package name, so the official Telegram app can stay installed next to it.
STEP 02
The lock sits in the chat header, next to the call button. Before you tap it the lock is hollow and the header shows the contact's name. After one tap the header reads Encrypted and the lock is filled red.
The clock button appears in the message bar only once encryption is on. That is a quick way to tell the state without opening the header.
STEP 03
Messages you send are marked with a small lock to the left of the text. If the lock is missing, the message was not encrypted — the person you are writing to is on the official Telegram app rather than Ecryptgram.
STEP 04
Tap the clock button in the message bar to open the self-destruct timer, then choose how long a message should live. It is destroyed on both devices when the timer runs out. The sheet shows the full list of durations Android supports.
Android offers six options: Off, 10 seconds, 1 minute, 1 hour, 1 day, 7 days.
The lock in a conversation header is the single source of truth for that chat.
This conversation is not end-to-end encrypted. Messages still reach the audit pipeline, but they are not protected between the two devices.
Both devices hold the session key, and the conversation is reported to your audit server as encrypted. Only the two endpoints can read it.
Forwarding, screenshots or copying are disabled for this conversation. Burn-after-reading timers appear here too.
Every release is published with a SHA-256 checksum. Compare it before you install — this is the only way to be sure the file you have is the file we built.
certutil -hashfile Ecryptgram-Setup-7.2.6.exe SHA256
Get-FileHash .\Ecryptgram-Setup-7.2.6.exe -Algorithm SHA256
sha256sum Ecryptgram-12.10.1.apk
A .sha256 file is published next to every build on the download host.
If the value does not match, do not install the file. Delete it, download it again, and tell your administrator.
Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit. Client version 7.2.6. Around 1 GB of free disk space for the application and its local message cache.
Android 5.0 (Lollipop) or later. Client version 12.10.1. Around 300 MB of free storage, plus room for the media you receive.
Outbound access to the Telegram network, and to the audit service. No inbound ports are required on the client.
The person you are writing to is probably still on the official app, or their client has not picked up the session key yet. Give it a few seconds and click again. If it still does not fill, confirm with them that they are running Ecryptgram.
Messages sent before encryption was switched on stay as they were, and so do messages in a conversation where the lock is still hollow. Check the header first — the markers on individual messages follow the state of the conversation.
The self-destruct timer is only available in an encrypted conversation. Turn the lock on first and the clock button appears in the message bar.
Check that the device is registered. The client records a device identity when it signs in; if it was never accepted, nothing is reported. Ask your administrator to confirm the device is registered and not pending review.
The audit and update service uses a separate host name from this website. Check that the address resolves from your network before reinstalling anything — reinstalling will not fix a blocked host name.
Ask your administrator to reset the device identity before you reinstall. Reinstalling rebuilds the device keystore, so the fingerprint changes and the server will reject a registration it has already seen.
This is expected, because the installer is signed with the project's own certificate rather than a commercial one. Verify the SHA-256 first, then choose More info and Run anyway.
Still stuck? Ask in the contact channel.