Telegram adds group video calls, animations, more in new update

Telegram, quickly became popular after WhatsApp ran into problems after its new Privacy Policy update earlier this year. While the rival offered a number of features, making it one of the most packed messaging services out there, it still lacked one major feature that WhatsApp had – Group Video Calls.

Telegram has however fixed that with a new update, that brings not just group video call support to the platform, but also other new features like screen sharing and noise suppression. Check out all the new features here.

Group Video Calls

Telegram users can now make full-screen video calls on the app or the Telegram Web platform. The feature, rivalling conferencing tools like Zoom and Google Meet, adds features like noise suppression and tablet support.

On tablets and desktop, video calls will appear in a large, split-screen view of the video grid along with the list of participants. Group video calls will also open in a separate window, allowing users to do other things without minimizing the video call.

Animated backgrounds, message animations

Telegram is also adding several changes to the UI. There is also now support for animated backgrounds, where colours and patterns can shift in the background as you send and receive messages. There are also new message animations for text messages, stickers and emojis, which can now be seen smoothly gliding upwards from the text box into the chat.

Telegram also now adds two more icons on iOS, login info reminders, a bot menu to browse the list if commands, and even more animated emoji. The app is also releasing new tools for developers that let people create their own stickers and import them into the app in one tap.

The new features should come in an app update from the Google Play Store or the App Store and you should receive it soon if you haven’t already.