Almost any Telegram user knows that there are groups in the messenger: chats in which more than two users can communicate simultaneously. However, for many it turns out to be a revelation that there are two types of groups: basic groups and supergroups. We explain the differences between these two types in this article.

When a user creates a new group, it is always the basic group.

1. Features of basic groups

Number of participants: up to 200.
A basic group can only be private.
New group members do not see messages that were sent to the group before they joined.
It is impossible to copy a link to any group message.
Any group member can delete any message in the group in “self-only” mode. Other members will still see such a message.
Any group member can delete any of their messages for all members, and administrators can also delete messages from any other member. Such messages will disappear for all group members.
Basic groups are not counted when calculating the maximum number of groups and channels a user can be a member of (500 for regular users and 1000 for Telegram Premium subscribers).
Basic groups cannot be boosted.

Certain actions by the owner of such a group may cause it to become a supergroup. The conversion occurs automatically, without any warning, and without the need for additional confirmation from the user.

Please note that it is not possible to convert a supergroup back to a basic group.

2. Supergroups features

Number of participants: up to 200,000.
Can be both private and public.
It is possible to partially restrict the rights of a specific participant (for example, prohibit them from sending voice messages), or completely block them in the group by adding them to the Blacklist of the group. In addition, you can change the rights of all group participants at once.
The Recent Actions section is available.
It is possible to assign any role name to any administrator.
You can copy a link to any message sent to the group after it became a supergroup.
You can configure the visibility of chat history for new group members.
When deleting any message, the administrator can select the options “Delete X Messages” and “Report spam”.
A regular group member can delete only their own messages, and only in one mode: for all members.
Supergroups are taken into account when calculating the maximum number of groups and channels a user can be a member of.
Supergroups can be boosted.

3. What is the easiest way to find out what type of group you are dealing with?

If the message is sent to a basic group, it is impossible to copy the link to it, but if it is sent to a supergroup, it is possible. Send a new message to the group and click next to it:

If the menu that appears has a «Copy link» option, then it’s a supergroup.
And if there’s no such option, then it’s a basic group.

4. Actions that transform a basic group into a supergroup

Provide more than 200 members in the group.
Change the group type to public (you can then make the group private again, it will still be a supergroup)
Change the “Chat history” setting for new members (you can then hide the history again, the group will still be a supergroup).
Assign any role name to any administrator.
Change any permission of any member of the group.
Enable “Slow mode” in the group.
Activate slow mode.
Link the group to a channel.
Enable topics in the group.
Create Shared chats folder with the group.

5. Some non-obvious features of the Telegram platform when turning a basic group into a supergroup

Converting a group to a supergroup may have some unexpected and unpleasant effects:

Media sent to the group before it was converted to a supergroup disappears from the Media tab in the group profile. However, it remains in the group itself. It is impossible to return the disappeared media to the Media tab.
Supergroup members may lose the ability to edit, pin, and unpin messages sent to the group before it was converted to a supergroup.
If the group was converted to a supergroup as a result of enabling topics, then messages sent to the group before the conversion will only be visible when viewing the forum in View-as-messages mode.
After converting a group to a supergroup, the Telegram Desktop application may show two separate chats: they will have the same name, but one will display the messages that were sent to the group before the conversion, and the other — those that were sent after. And it will be impossible to join the first group. Usually the old chat disappears after restarting the application or after logging out and logging in to the account.
When converting, the digital ID of the group changes (not to be confused with the public name and invitation link). The thing is that technically the base group does not turn into a supergroup at all: instead, a new group is created with a new ID, which is immediately a supergroup, and the platform simply stores information that the new group is associated with the old one.