Telegram Messenger aims to introduce a secure group video calls feature on the app this year. Last week, the company announced the development, where they said due to the coronavirus lockdown in many countries, there is a need for a trusted video communication tool. Telegram also announced the rollout of many other features such as a search directory for stickers, an upgraded Quiz Mode, and new animations for the app. The company said that the messaging app has more than 400 million monthly users, 300 million users were a year ago. Moreover, Telegram introduces many other features like Chat Folders, Channel stats, and more at the start of April.
Secure group video calls
Telegram Messenger said that the company aims to help its users to stay in touch in this coronavirus pandemic and after. Telegram will add a secure group video call feature, but the exact date of the launch is not confirmed yet. It is not clear how many participants can join the group video call together.
Telegram said that that video calls in 2020 are more like messaging in 2013. Right now, some apps are either secure or usable, but not both. They will try to fix both in their app, and they will try to focus on coming up with the secure group video calls in 2020.
Telegram now has over 400,000,000 monthly active users. Thank you all! 🎉 https://t.co/F3qu3lAesu
— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) April 24, 2020
Recently, WhatsApp announced that they are increasing the group video and voice calls participants from four to up to eight people.
Messenger Rooms will hold up to 50 people with no time limit so you can drop in and spend time with friends, family and people who share your interests. You can discover Rooms from your Facebook friends, Groups and Events at the top of News Feed. pic.twitter.com/Fmx2VPjmMX
— Meta (@Meta) April 24, 2020
Quizzes 2.0
In January, Telegram introduced a Quiz Mode that aimed at education channels to create objective-based learning by multiple-choice questions. Now, the company is rolling out an update that would allow the users to add their explanations, which is right after a person reply to the quiz questions. Telegram said from this update, participants will learn from their mistakes or give them more meaning.
Telegram announced a competition for the creators of Educational Tests of a prize worth EUR 400,000 (approx. Rs. 3.29 crores).
Telegram said that to participate, use @QuizBot to create and publish an original educational test on any subject at any difficulty level, in any language. The participants can choose anything from basic Medieval European History in English to Mikrobiologie fur Experten Auf Deutsch. They can add any media they need for their questions, but they have to be sure all academic property rights should be respected.
Telegram said that the quizzes would be published in a searchable directory. The users can subscribe to the @contest channel on their messaging app for the updates.
Sticker Directory, Attachment Menu on Android and Improvements in macOS
Telegram is rolling out a sticker-directory where the users can browse and search more than 20,000 free stickers made by the company. The users have to select the sticker option in a chat to access the directory. After choosing the sticker option, the user has to click on the + icon to use the directory.
The Telegram users of Android and macOS are also getting new updates in which the users can access their media files. In the Android, now all sections of the attachment menu are accessible as expandable layers. It mainly gives the user a quick preview of the media files that they may want to share. Now, the macOS users on Telegram can access Shared Media direct from the profile pages. All the features mentioned above will roll out in India also. The company also added new animations on its messaging platform.
The latest updates on Telegram came after a week when the company launched a major upgrade that aimed at de-cluttering chat screens amid coronavirus pandemic. Nowadays, the users are spending more time on the app, so, Telegram introduced the Chat Folders and Channel Stats features.
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