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The official Telegram on Telegram. Much recursion. Very Telegram. Wow.
Payments are coming to Telegram bots. Soon you'll be able to order pizza, pay for a pair of shoes, hire a cab, or refill your subway pass — all in a few button taps on Telegram.
Meanwhile, check out @ShopBot and @TelegramDonate for a taste of tomorrow (both need Telegram 4.0 to work).
https://telegram.org/blog/payments
Telegram 3.18 for Android and iOS just hit the stores, and with it, we are beginning to roll out Voice Calls: secure, crystal-clear, and constantly improved by machine learning.
Telegram calls will first become available to users from Western Europe, but the rest of the world will get them very soon as well (no extra update required). Get ready to roar!
https://telegram.org/blog/calls
A big update is coming to Telegram soon. It is currently delayed because Apple is keeping the iOS version "In review" – it's been stuck in this state for more than 10 days.
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Android users, rejoice! With the new version 3.17 you can customize the way your Telegram app looks using Custom Themes and the new Theme Editor.
We've included two new default themes made by Telegram's designer: a dark theme that is good for telegramming by night and a fresh blue theme with fresh blue text bubbles.
Here's a blog post with more details:
https://telegram.org/blog/android-themes
Many of our users are already busy making new themes. Check the @AndroidThemes channel if you want more.
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If you're on iOS or other platforms, don't worry – we'll have some other good news for you soon. 😈
Telegram 3.16 is out, allowing you to unsend messages and view network usage stats. We've also added stylish t.me links for Telegram profiles, channels, and public groups.
Also, Android users get another bucketful of improvements for their app. How come they always get more? Well, we have a lot of Android users. But, more importantly, one of them has all our money.
Here's more about this update:
telegram.org/blog/unsend-and-usage
Introducing The Telegraph Bot and API – with logins, page view stats, and more.
You can now use the @Telegraph bot to log in and manage your Telegraph posts across any number of devices. In addition, this bot can give you page view statistics for any post on Telegraph.
Developers are welcome to use our new Telegraph API to create similar bots for other platforms or standalone tools.
Read more in the Telegram blog:
https://telegram.org/blog/telegraph
Version 3.13 is out for iOS and Android today!
We're introducing a major update to Telegram's Bot Platform: Bots can now offer you rich HTML5 experiences, like games.
For a taste of what's coming, check out the @gamee bot. You can use this bot in inline mode: simply type @gamee in any of your chats to share a game and compete with friends.
Here are a few examples for you to enjoy:
/channel/gamee?game=FootballStar
/channel/gamee?game=MrMuscle
Hundreds of games are coming your way – if you want them. We know you love Telegram because it’s lean and efficient. This is why the new Gaming Platform is strictly optional and won’t add a single byte to the size of our apps. The only thing we're adding today is countless more fun moments in your chats.
Read more in the Telegram blog:
https://telegram.org/blog/games
And check out all those new stickers, they're awesome.
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Telegram for iOS was updated to version 3.10.1 today.
Picture in Picture is now available not just for YouTube and Vimeo videos, but for all videos in Telegram.
Chat preview (formerly only with 3D Touch) is now available for all iOS devices. Simply tap and hold on a chat to preview without opening.
We've also made a few minor improvements and fixed a couple of bugs. The app will no longer crash when sending videos to channels, and if you've seen an indestructible empty chat in the list, it will go away now (try terminating and restarting the app if it lingers).
Stay tuned for more updates on all platforms.
Our new update today introduces Drafts, Picture-in-Picture mode for YouTube and Vimeo videos on iOS, a new built-in video player for Android, as well as design and usability improvements across all our apps.
Read all about version 3.10 here: https://telegram.org/blog/drafts
Version 3.7 just landed in the iOS and Android stores. Supergroups 2.0 are here: now with up to 5,000 members each, supporting pinned messages, public links and new moderation tools to help you keep the bad guys at bay.
Read more in our blog:
https://telegram.org/blog/supergroups5k
Coming to all official apps soon!
Thanks to your support, Telegram now has more than 100 million monthly users. 350 thousand new users join every day – all because you told your friends, family and co-workers about Telegram. Keep spreading the word!
https://telegram.org/blog/100-million
Today's update to our iOS, Android and Desktop apps brings you faster and better GIFs along with a new type of bots. The Windows Phone and OSX native clients will be getting this update soon as well.
GIF Revolution
Animations will now become up to 20x faster when sending and downloading. GIFs will play automatically in your chats (this can be turned off in Settings). We've also added a dedicated GIF tab to the sticker panel. Tap on a GIF (long tap on iOS) to save it to the panel – then send it to friends in just a few taps.
https://telegram.org/blog/gif-revolution
All of our official apps are getting updated with new features today.
Group Admins, Supergroups for up to 1000 members, new In-App Notifications (iOS) and Quick Share buttons (Android and WP).
More about the update:
https://telegram.org/blog/supergroups
We were disturbed to learn that Telegram's public channels were being used by ISIS to spread their propaganda.
We are carefully reviewing all reports sent to us at abuse@telegram.org and are taking appropriate action to block such channels.
As a result, this week alone we blocked 78 ISIS-related channels across 12 languages.
We are also introducing an easier way for our users to report objectionable public content in the upcoming update of Telegram this week.
Telegram 4.0 is here — and it's not just one, but THREE major updates all at once!
For starters, check out the new ultra-slick video messages and meet Telescope, our new video service where anyone can view video messages from public channels — even if they don't have a Telegram account.
https://telegram.org/blog/video-messages-and-telescope
So while we're all waiting, check out this new text that explains how terrorists can use any encrypted messaging app and what all of us can do about this.
http://telegra.ph/Dont-Shoot-the-Messenger
Btw, our brave volunteers from the Telegram Support Force have collected some tips and answers to the most popular questions about themes on this page:
http://telegra.ph/Telegram-Themes-FAQ
If you already have Android Wear 2.0., check out the Play Store on your smartwatch for the new Telegram for Android Wear 2.0., our new fast and powerful standalone app.
telegram.org/blog/android-wear-2-0
Some media claimed Telegram did little or nothing to stop ISIS content from spreading on its platform. Nothing can be further from the truth: every day we block over 60 ISIS-related channels before they get any traction, and over 2,000 channels are blocked every month.
For daily updates on the number of ISIS bots and channels blocked by Telegram, follow @ISISwatch.
Telegram 3.15 is out, adding pinned chats and powerful @IFTTT integrations.
You can now pin important chats to the top of your list and use Telegram to control more than 360 services and Internet of Things devices.
For example, you can now receive your new Twitter mentions in a Telegram group, automatically post your Instagram photos to a Telegram channel, or change the color of your Philips Hue by sending a message in Telegram.
Bonus: Android users will enjoy three extra features in this update: high-precision rotation for photos, Picture-in-Picture mode for Youtube videos, and forwarding into Secret Chats.
Read more in the Telegram blog:
https://telegram.org/blog/pin-and-ifttt
Telegram 3.12 is out for iOS and Android!
1. You can now add masks, text, and drawings to your pictures. Telegram's sticker artists have prepared many stylish masks for you to try out. Naturally, you can also upload your own using the @stickers bot (by the way, that bot has learned a couple of new languages for the occasion).
2. In addition to this, you can now make your own GIFs in just a few taps. Simply record a video, then press the "mute" button to send it as a looped animation.
3. We've added a new Trending tab to your sticker panel, feel free to check it when you're out of fresh sticker ideas.
You can read all about the new features in this blog post:
telegram.org/blog/masks
Telegram v.3.11. is out for iOS, Android and Desktop.
Trending stickers, personal storage, group previews for invite links, new camera interface for Android 4.1+, new in-app video player for Telegram Desktop, and more.
Read all about it the latest blog post:
https://telegram.org/blog/trending-stickers
Here's how your chats list will look in Telegram for iOS v.3.10 with a couple of Drafts and a video running in PiP mode.
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Telegram version 3.8 has arrived!
Meet Bots 2.0, our biggest update to the bot platform since June 2015. We've introduced a whole bunch of new tools that will help developers build seamless and more intuitive bot interfaces for you.
Try these sample bots to see what's coming your way soon: @music, @sticker, @youtube, @foursquare
Or check out the demo videos here:
https://telegram.org/blog/bots-2-0
But this update is not only about bots. We've also added some nifty preview and sharing options to our apps, as well as various design improvements on iOS, Android, and Desktop.
You will find more details in this post:
https://telegram.org/blog/share-preview
We're also delivering 15,000,000,000 Telegrams daily now. Keep them flying!
https://telegram.org/blog/15-billion
Inline Bots
You can now easily send bot-generated content to any chat, group or channel – even if the bot is not a member. Simply type the @username of an inline bot in the message field in any chat, then type some keywords. The bot will offer you relevant content that you can send in one tap.
https://telegram.org/blog/inline-bots
Sample inline bots:
@gif – Search and send animated GIFs
@vid – Quickly share YouTube videos
@bing – Find pictures using Bing
@pic – Find pictures using Yandex
@wiki – Share Wikipedia articles
@imdb – Find and share movie details
@bold – Send bold, italic or fixed width text
We've updated our apps with new cache management options so that Telegram can take up nearly zero space on your phone, even if you‘re using it heavily.
Read about it in the Telegram blog:
https://telegram.org/blog/cache-and-stickers
In other news, you can now manually reorder your sticker packs, and the order will be synced across all your devices. This can be done in Sticker Settings, accessible via the new button in the sticker panel (or via Settings).
On Android and Desktop, tap/click and hold on a pack to drag it to its new place. On iOS, tap 'Edit' first. Manual reordering is coming to all other official apps within a day.
If you're looking for more sticker packs to reorder, try marching Vicky and Harry up and down your stickers list:
/channel/addstickers/Vicky
/channel/addstickers/Harry
We were able to identify and block these public ISIS channels thanks to your reports. Thank you!
Here's an explanation of the blocking process from our FAQ:
All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them. But sticker sets, channels, and bots on Telegram are publicly available. If you find sticker sets or bots on Telegram that you think are illegal, please ping us at abuse@telegram.org.
Our mission is to provide a secure means of communication that works everywhere on the planet. In order to do that in the places where it is most needed (and to continue distributing Telegram through the App Store and Google Play), we have to process legitimate requests to take down illegal public content (sticker sets, bots, and channels) within the app. For example, we can take down sticker sets that violate intellectual property rights or porn bots in countries where pornography is illegal.
User-uploaded stickers sets, channels, and bots by third-party developers are not part of the core Telegram UI. Whenever we receive a complaint at abuse@telegram.org regarding the legality of public content, we perform the necessary legal checks and take it down when deemed appropriate.
Please note that this does not apply to local restrictions on freedom of speech. For example, if criticizing the government is illegal in a country, Telegram won‘t be a part of such politically motivated censorship. This goes against our founders’ principles. While we do block terrorist (e.g. ISIS-related) bots and channels, we will not block anybody who peacefully expresses alternative opinions.
FAQ link: https://telegram.org/faq#q-there-39s-illegal-content-on-telegram-how-do-i-take-it-down
Finally some good news for our Iranian users.
A couple of weeks ago Telegram stopped working in Iran, so I assumed we had been blocked there. However, service has since returned to normal, and the Iranian Ministry of Information and Communication declared they were not going to block Telegram.
The interruption of service, they say, was due to the disruption of cables connecting Iran with the rest of the world (Suez Canal, Mandeb Strait + Iran-Turkey cables), and the poor connectivity affected most western services in Iran – not just Telegram.
Moreover, the government denied that they required any kind of spying tools from Telegram, saying that the demand I received was fake and not authorized by any higher authorities.
I’d like to believe that this is true – it would mean that the Iranian people will continue to be able to use what I maintain is the best messaging service on the market. And since our system administrators confirm that the Iranian government’s report of cable disruption is probable, my earlier claim about Telegram getting blocked may have been inaccurate (or at least premature).
In that case, sorry for the false alarm, everyone. It’s easy to misinterpret the situation in markets that have a history of internet censorship – you might have heard that Facebook and Twitter have been blocked in Iran for a few years. However, this doesn’t mean that Telegram can't be blocked there in the future.
Iranian authorities made it clear that they would block Telegram if it contained publicly available porn, i.e. porn bots and porn channels. If this is the only matter that poses a concern, there will hardly be any problem, since we already block most porn bots and channels anyway due to App Store restrictions.
Anyway, the bottom line: we’re good in Iran. For now. And let’s hope for the best 🌟