"My Contacts" (Use with Caution): If you choose this, only people who have your number saved in their phone's address book (and use Telegram) will be able to find your profile by searching for your number. While seemingly private, it means anyone in your phone's address book who joins Telegram can find you this way.
2. Always Enable Two-Step Verification (2FA)
This is the most critical security measure beyond hiding your number.
How to Set Up: Go to Settings > Privacy and telegram number database Security > Two-Step Verification.
Create a Strong Password: Set a unique, strong password that you don't use anywhere else.
Set a Recovery Email: Link a recovery email address. This is vital if you ever forget your 2FA password, as Telegram will send recovery codes to this email. Ensure this recovery email is also highly secure with its own 2FA.
Benefit: Even if an attacker somehow obtains the SMS login code sent to your phone number (e.g., via SIM swap fraud), they cannot access your Telegram account without this additional 2FA password.
Set a Username: Go to Settings > Username and create a unique public username (e.g., @YourUniqueHandle).
Share Your Username, Not Your Number: Use your username as your primary public contact method on social media, websites, or business cards. People can find you and initiate conversations using your username, keeping your phone number completely hidden (if your privacy settings are set to "Nobody").
4. Control Contact Syncing
Disable "Sync Contacts" (if desired): Go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Contacts and toggle "Sync Contacts" OFF. This prevents Telegram from uploading your device's entire address book to its cloud servers.