Telegram recently released a huge update that includes topics in large group chats, collectible usernames, voice-to-text for video messages, and other features.
Based on corporate figures, the encrypted instant messaging service has seen steady growth in recent months, with 700 million monthly active users. Demandsage says that this is a 40% increase since 2021.
Adding Topics to Group Chats
As more people use the app, people behind Telegram found a solution for large Telegram groups crammed with messages that are difficult to follow due to a lack of compiling mechanisms. This is especially true for active groups with over 200 members.
Telegram addresses this issue by allowing groups within the app to create easily searchable topics as well as the ability to create spaces for any particular subject. This is similar to Discord's channel mechanisms, and Telegram's topics function as individual chats within the group. These topics can even have their own set of shared media and notification options.
Telegram already has a Search in Conversation feature, which allows users to search for keywords to find parts of a conversation that they want to reread and recover. As useful as it appears to be for searching for keywords, it is difficult to use for following topics and conversation themes.
The official update blog informs users that topics may include polls, pinned messages, and bots. These changes encouraged discussions among Telegram communities in large group chats. This could be useful for school projects, community topics, and even startups.
Group admins can give this new feature a try by enabling topics in the Group Settings and assigning members that will be allowed to create and manage topics in Permissions.
A Look at Collectible Usernames
These collectible usernames can also serve as vanity usernames for Telegram users who want to establish more visibility inside the platforms. The Verge tells us that collectible usernames can be NFT-like assets secured by the TON blockchain network that can be purchased and sold via Fragment.
What's cool is that collectible usernames can have fewer than five characters, and having one gives the owner the option to trade or keep it. Be quick because anyone could take cool usernames like @game or @goat.
Users could also disable any collectible usernames, making them invisible in search results without dropping the name.
Voice-to-Text for Video Messages
This next update is only available to Telegram Premium subscribers. Premium users can now receive text transcripts of received video messages in real time. This is not only a cool and convenient feature but can also be quite inclusive.
More Visual Updates
Users can also explore 12 new emoji packs with the update. Although this may not be that groundbreaking, Telegram already has custom emoji sets.
Telegram Night Mode for iOS has also been improved by making colors more balanced and improving blurring effects as users scroll through chats and the chat list.
Furthermore, users on Android can now resize texts by changing the text size in the Chat settings. This can also be used to resize link previews, reply headers, and other messaging aspects.
The app has also received some minor design improvements. When you tap a user's phone number on their profile page, a new menu with several call options appears. When you swipe left to reply, a new animation will also appear.
Finally, there are more interactive emojis and reactions for users to enjoy.
You can check the new features here!
The Update Got Delayed Because Of Apple
The updated blog concluded with a post from Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov. It was stated that Telegram's most recent update had been forced to stick in Apple Review for more than a week and that Telegram had not been informed of the current reason for the delay.
