Telegram is a privacy focused messaging app. And this time, things just got better.
Following the WhatsApp exodus, Telegram has been introducing features at a relatively faster pace, just to make those new people feel well at home and welcomed.
And this time, Telegram has more features introduced, which should make the app more powerful and much more convenient for everyday communications.
First and foremost, the messaging app is finally introducing group video chat to its mobile and desktop apps.
Users have to first initiate a group voice call, before they can tap on the camera icon to join a group call. While there are no limits to the number of group voice call participants on Telegram, group video calls at this time, are limited to 30 people.
What's more, users can also share their screens during a video call.
Telegram has also added an updated background noise suppression feature to voice chats.
Aside from the calling features, Telegram is also adding several changes to the user interface.
For example, Telegram can support animated backgrounds, which is a first for a messaging app. The background features spinning color patterns which animate every time users send a message. Users can also choose their own colors and patterns through the settings.
Animated backgrounds created by the user can also be shared with others.
The message sending animation has also been updated and the text, emoji, and stickers now smoothly glide upwards from the text box into the chat, similar to iMessage.
Telegram said that these animations are fairly light on resources so they won't necessarily bog down performance or consume too much power.
And for iOS users, Telegram is adding semi-transparency and a set of new app icons:
“On iOS, backgrounds are now partially visible through the header and the footer in chats, giving the interface a classy new look. Two new gradient app icons are available in Settings > Appearance in addition to the classic blue and black versions.”
Aside from these new features and changes, there is the bot menu to browse the list of commands.
Telegram has made it easier for users to communicate with bots, by adding a special menu button that lets them browse and send commands. Bots can also change the placeholder in the input field to give users a better idea of what kind of message they are expecting. Moreover, bot developers can finally create commands that can change based on a user’s interface language and chat type, as well as special commands that only appear in specific chats or for admins.
The sticker bot on Telegram can help users create new sticker packs as well as get usage stats for their stickers on Telegram.
There are also more animated emoji.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said in April 2020 that the messaging app passed 400 million users. Durov also wrote that the global lockdown had "highlighted the need for a trusted video communication tool," in which he went on to dub video calls in 2020 "much like messaging in 2013".
Then in January 2021, the messaging app reached 500 million active users, many of whom came to the platform after the Facebook-owned rival chat platform WhatsApp bungled the introduction of a new privacy policy.
While Telegram is experiencing a healthy growth, it's still far from WhatsApp, which has more than 2 billion users, or about four times the amount of Telegram users.
Read: Comparing WhatsApp With Telegram And Signal, In A Privacy Perspective