Instant messaging service Telegram has updated its app and Supergroups can now have up to 5,000 members.
Telegram introduced Supergroups in November 2015 that allows group admins to bump up the number of members from 200 to 1,000. Now admins can add up to five times the number.
"Telegram is famous for its awesome group chats. Today's update makes them even more awesome. To begin with, we're increasing the number of people who can join a supergroup from 1,000 to 5,000 members. That's 5 times as good," says the Telegram team.
Telegram has also added a few new features to Supergroups, including pinned messages that show at the top of the screen. Admins of Supergroup will be able to inform all members regarding important news via pinned messages. Members who have muted sound for ordinary messages will get notification for pinned messages.
Admins will be able to manage spammers more effectively with the new moderation tools. They are also allowed to quickly delete all messages from specific members, block and report them.
The new features introduced by Telegram apply only to Supergroups. However, the creator of groups of any size can now convert to Supergroup. All members will be able to see the group admins in the members' list, which means any member can contact the admin if the need arises.
Telegram is a cross-platform chat solution, which is available for iOS, Android, Windows and more. The app also offers encryption, which is very important to members who are concerned for the security of their device.
"We made it our mission to provide the best security among mass messengers. Telegram heavily encrypts all your data with time-tested algorithms," according to the product description of Telegram. "Built to deliver your messages in the minimum bytes possible, Telegram is the most reliable messaging system ever made. It works even on the weakest mobile connections."
It is worth noting that Telegram is 100 percent free and does not have annoying ads. Telegram also highlights that user privacy is very important for the company and Telegram never shares customer data with third parties.
The app is available as a free download from Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Android users need devices running on Android 2.3 or above to use Telegram.
iDevice owners need iOS 6.0 or later and the app is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Telegram for iOS weighs only 39.4 MB and supports a number of languages including: English, Arabic, Dutch, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.
