30746
This is the English mirror of @tginfo. Ask Questions & Discuss: @tginfochaten Beta Channel: @betainfoen TON: @infotonen Other Languages: @tginfoall Feedback & Commecrial: @infowritebot
Telegram's stats are still unstable
Our followers report stats are still flaky.
Some people tell the stats don't load at all, just like it was reported on July 15, while for some others stats do load, but show incorrect data, like wrong subscribers counters.
#outages
How will Telegram Stories work and what will they feature
The @tginfo editorial team has analyzed new strings on the Telegram translations platform and speculates on how stories will work:
• It seems like on the initial launch only Premium users will be able to publish Stories, and wider availability coming later.
• Stories will have a dual-camera recording feature, allowing simultaneous use of the main and front cameras.
• Users will be able to mention (@username) people in their stories. Mentioned users will receive notifications.
• Unfinished stories can be saved as drafts.
• Stories can have text captions.
• Users will have control over the lifespan of their stories. Certain self-destruction options will be available only to Premium users.
• Stories can be archived and restored from the archive.
• Stories can be pinned to the profile until manually removed.
• Stories can have custom emojis in their stories, and a button will be displayed to save the displayed emoji pack.
• It seems like stories can be edited after publication.
• There will be a limit on the number of stories that can be published within 24 hours.
• Story owners will be able to view a list of views (this list will disappear 24 hours after the story is hidden from the public).
• You can restrict downloading, screenshots, and screen recording tools.
• Story privacy options: close friends list, public, contacts only.
• If you make a story available only to close friends, the users added to this category will be notified.
• You can disable replies to stories.
• You can reply to stories in private.
• You can forward stories.
• Stories can be zoomed in by pinching the screen.
• You will be able to enable notifications for new stories.
• Telegram will suggest enabling notifications for new stories from the five users you interact with most frequently.
It is important to note that all information is based on strings from the translations platform, so the story mechanism may undergo some changes before its release.
Posting Stories Only for Telegram Premium Users
Telegram's Translations platform added the following line:
Posting stories is currently available only to subscribers of Telegram Premium
From the wording, it seems that initially only Premium users will be able to post stories, and later the feature will become available to all users.
This might change at release, since this is just our speculation from Telegram's app strings.
#stories
Privacy Settings for Bio
A mention for Bio privacy settings appeared on Telegram's Translations platform, the new setting will allow you to choose which users can see your bio displayed on your profile:
"Who can see my bio"
Likely, this feature will come in the next update.
Telegram statistics outage
Group and channel admins are reporting that stats are not loading. Instead of the usual graphs and data, the app shows the message "Loading stats", but the data itself does not appear even after a long wait. The problem seems to be widespread.
#outages
Telegram Changes Its Approach to Advertising Personalization
The messenger has updated its advertising platform. Now, advertisements can be shown based on the user's personal data, such as user's interests and location down to the nearest city.
According to Durov's Code, interests will be analyzed based on the list of channels a user is subscribed for. Advertisers will be able to limit the audience based on location data, which Telegram determines via the user's IP address.
Advertisers will be allowed to target ads to users based on a user database gathered outside of Telegram. For example, a store can provide Telegram with its scrambled phone number database to show a special offer only to their customers.
Previously, advertisers could only customize ad audience based on public data, for instance, displaying an ad only on finance-themed channels.
The new changes allow more frequent displays of more relevant ads, meaning you will start seeing finance-related ads in other unrelated channels if Telegram's algorithms think that you are interested in finance.
This same approach is used by other companies such as Google. Even though advertisers still will not receive raw information about the user, personal data is now involved in personalization.
Advertisers will be able to indirectly determine your affiliation to a user group only if you click on the ad link. If you ignore the ad, no data will be transferred.
According to Durov's Code, Telegram also plans to display advertisements on large private channels that misuse link access settings for profit.
Pavel Durov Announced Upcoming Stories
The long-awaited feature will be available in Telegram in early July.
Features:
• Privacy
Users will be able to determine who will see each of their stories.
• Compact interface
Stories will be placed in an expandable section at the top of the chat list.
• Flexibility
Stories can be easily hidden.
• Captions
Users will be able to edit photos and videos, as well as add captions and tag other people.
• Dual-camera support
Users will be able to post stories taken simultaneously with the front and rear cameras.
• Flexible expiration options
Users will be able to choose the lifetime of the story.
The ability to save their stories on the profile page will make Telegram profiles more informative and colorful. Users will not only be able to view more content from their closest contacts, but they will also be able to learn more about the users who they communicate with in public chats.
Telegram is unstable
Telegram users from Europe (DC2) report slowed response times from the messenger, media tends to not load and voice messages don't get through.
During such outages, messages sent from other regions to users in Europe tend to not work well too.
Map — DownDetector
#outages
Telegram Desktop No Longer Allows Changing Phone Number
Telegram users can no longer change their account phone numbers in the Telegram Desktop (both Windows and macOS).
Telegram Info team believes that this limitation may be due to security reasons.
We remind you that you can still change your phone number in the Telegram mobile clients for Android or iOS. To do this, open the "Settings" section and click on the inscription with the phone number.
Telegram Download Growth
According to Sensor Tower, only Telegram and WeChat show download growth in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period in 2020.
#statistics
Documentation Update
The official Telegram website has updated its documentation page.
In particular, the changes explain the new auth process for unofficial apps, editing the bot profiles, and other new features. The update covers all changes since Layer 146.
#documentation
Finding a good specialist for a job is a long and expensive process
@tonlance_bot will make it easier.
How does it work?
You just need to describe the task, get feedback from tonlance freelancers, choose the right employee, and get the job done.
What’s inside?
• Cryptocurrency-based escrow system.
• Fast transactions in cryptocurrency.
• Zero fees for employers.
• Fast support from founders.
Take your project work to the top by checking out @tonlance_bot.
#ad
Reacting as Groups and Channels
Currently, you can send messages on behalf of your groups and channels, but your reactions will still be on behalf of your personal account.
In the upcoming version of Telegram, you will be able to make your reactions on behalf of your groups and channels as well.
It’s worth noting that according to the changes in Telegram’s documentation, you will be able to react to messages with a specific reaction only once, regardless of the group or channel you chose to react on behalf of.
Brazil to Pass a Law That Might “End Freedom of Speech”
The PL 2630/2020 bill, which was labeled as “attack on democracy” by Telegram, grants the Brazilian government rights to censor content on the Internet without taking court decisions into account. This is considered one of the most dangerous decisions against human rights in Brazil’s history.
Google, Meta, and other firms plan to join forces to make the Brazilian Congress understand why the bill is required to be rewritten.
Telegram urges Brazilians to contact their congressmen and tell them "Brazilians deserve a free internet and a free future."
If the bill passes, platforms like Telegram might have to stop serving Brazil.
Read more regarding Brazil in @tginfobr.
#Brazil
Telegram says it wasn't informed about the request until the day it was blamed
Telegram published on its official channel in Brazil that, contrary to claims spread by Minister of Justice Flávio Dino, it responded to SENACON's request one business day after sending it. Unlike other companies, Telegram was not informed about the request until the day it was blamed for "not responding".
In addition, Telegram also shared a file containing documents issued by SENACON, which show that Telegram was not notified at the same time as other platforms.
#Brazil #ban
New Archive settings in Telegram
More flexible Archive settings will be added in the coming update. Our editors noticed following options in strings on Telegram's Translation platform:
• Option to prevent all unmuted chats from leaving the archive on new notification.
• Option to prevent chats included into one the custom folders from leaving the archive on new notification.
Right now, if the chat is included in a folder by the automatic filter by chat type, it will continue leaving the archive. We are not sure if this will change in the coming update.
Premium owners will have access to a wider range of story self-destruction options
The Telegram Translations platform added a mention of extended self-destruction options available only to Premium owners. Users with a subscription will be able to set timers for story self-destruction to values that are not available to free users.
#stories
800 million monthly active users in Telegram
Pavel Durov told that over 2.5 million new users signing up for Telegram every day, and earlier this year Telegram has surpassed 800 million monthly active users.
While not yet profitable (which would be impossible to reach on just the second year of monetization), Telegram is closer to profitability in absolute numbers than its competitors such as Twitter and Snap.
To support growth and to reach the break-even point, Telegram issued around $270 million worth of bonds this week. About a quarter of them was bought by Durov himself.
"Some people suggested I should have instead bought a house or a jet. But I prefer to stay focused on my work, without “owning” anything (well, apart from Telegram, some Bitcoin and some Toncoin)".
#statistics
Telegram Changes Archive's Behavior
According to the messenger's representatives, a bug was fixed which influenced Archive's behavior: now if a notification occurs in an archived chat, it won't leave the Archive if it's explicitly included in one of the custom folders.
If the chat is included in a folder by the automatic filter by chat type, it will continue leaving the Archive.
On the Telegram's suggestions platform, a moderator warns that this behavior might change in future again.
Enhanced Targeting is Available Only in Certain Countries
In the updated Privacy Policy, Telegram reports that the new features of the advertising platform are only operational in certain countries. Telegram does not provide a list of the countries to which the latest changes apply. The need to comply with territorial restrictions during advertising display in countries with a large number of Russian-speaking channels is cited as the reason.
The @tginfo team has determined that the new edition of the Privacy Policy is visible from IP addresses in Russia and Ukraine. Telegram representative have not yet responded to our request for the full list of countries.
The new features of the Ad Platform are location targeting with precision up to the nearest city, determining user interests based on the list of channels the user is subscribed to, and the ability to limit the audience based on a user database collected outside Telegram.
Advertisements will only be displayed on large channels (from 1,000 subscribers).
Telegram clarifies that for users with Premium subscriptions, personal data will not be processed for the purpose of personalized advertising.
How to Contact Telegram
As the platform is growing bigger, Telegram users feel the increased need to reach out for support, ranging from account recovery to content reports.
However, a lot of users usually end up contacting the wrong support channel and are left without an answer.
@tginfo explains the support system and the right accounts to contact in an FAQ article:
https://tginfo.me/how-to-contact-telegram-en
Durov on Copying Telegram
In a recent post in his channel, Pavel Durov commended Telegram for being able to define the messaging trends of the past decade. He also mentioned a relatable meme that was sent to his channel’s discussion chat.
Read the post here »
Issues with Telegram’s DC1
A couple of minutes ago, Telegram made a tweet that reported connectivity issues with their DC1, which is located in Miami, and mostly affects Telegram users in Americas.
Telegram noted that the problem is expected to be resolved in around 20 minutes.
Update (16:06 UTC): Telegram announced that the issue has been addressed.
#downtimes
Malaysia’s requests to Telegram remain unanswered
Malaysia’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Fahmi Fadzil, has stated that Telegram “refuses to cooperate” with the ministry, despite numerous requests for a meeting since January of this year.
Fahmi Fadzil emphasized that his ministry has received numerous complaints about the misuse of the messenger app, such as fraud, pornography, and illegal drug sales.
It is noted that most other platforms and social networks, including TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter, are already cooperating with the ministry.
Fadzil said that Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies, together with agencies such as MCMC and the National Cybersecurity Agency (NACSA), is constantly monitoring and studying developments in the field of cybersecurity, including on social networks.
“The truth is that it is Telegram that causes the most concern,” Fahmi Fadzil concluded.
Read more news about Telegram and Malaysia at @tginfoms.
#Malaysia
FAQ: Chat Owner's Unique Rights
The owner of a group or a channel has more rights than other admins, even if the admins have all possible permissions enabled.
List of actions that no one except the owner can perform:
General Actions:
• Changing the group or channel type between public and private
• Setting a username for a public group or channel.
• Turning “restrict content saving” On or Off.
• Turning topics On or Off (converting to a forum).
• Enabling or disabling the “Approval mode” option in a public group.
• Keeping owner rights after leaving and rejoining the chat.
• Deleting the group or channel. If the group or channel has more than 1,000 members, you must contact Telegram support to delete it.
• Send messages as public channels to groups (Premium feature).
Admin Management:
• Promoting, demoting admins, or changing their rights. Regular admins can only change permissions of admins they promoted themselves or promoted by a subordinate admins.
• Seeing and managing invite links created by other admins.
• Transferring ownership (in case of having Two-Step Verification On).
#FAQ
UPD. We've updated the last paragraph, as it was interpreting the documentation in a wrong way. The number of reactions a user can leave didn't change (one for a regular user, up to three for a Premium user), but the new functionality limits how you can mix reactions left as different actors.
Читать полностью…
Montana Governor Bans Telegram and Other Social Media Apps Amid Security Concerns
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has implemented a ban on several social media apps, including Telegram, WeChat, and Temu from government devices. The ban targets apps with ties to foreign adversaries, particularly those associated with China. Governor Gianforte expressed concerns over data security and privacy, suggesting that these apps could be utilized to monitor users and access personal information.
TikTok, which was also not left out of this, was banned from operating across the state. In its defense, it asserts that it has neither been requested nor shared any American data with the Chinese government.
Gianforte's decision, set to take effect on June 1, applies to state-issued devices and third-party firms conducting business with the state. It raises considerations about balancing security measures and preserving freedom of speech. The move to ban Telegram and other social media apps reflects growing concerns about potential risks associated with apps connected to foreign adversaries, especially China.
#USA #ban
Critical Vulnerability in Telegram for macOS Puts User Privacy at Risk
In a recent development regarding the critical vulnerability in Telegram for macOS, the messaging platform’s team has responded to the issue. Furthermore, additional information has emerged regarding the concerns raised by the Google engineer who discovered the vulnerability.
Google engineer Matt Johansen, who discovered the security flaw in February 2023, promptly reported the issue to Telegram, highlighting the risk it posed to users’ privacy. Despite the engineer’s efforts and the passage of three months, the vulnerability remained unaddressed.
The concerns surrounding the vulnerability led Matt to share the information on Twitter in an attempt to raise awareness and potentially catch the attention of Telegram’s security service.
In response to the revelations, Telegram’s team provided clarifications through their official Twitter account. They explained that the vulnerability only affected users of the App Store client on a compromised Mac with malware that had obtained root access. Telegram assured users that an update addressing the vulnerability was under review by Apple. It is important to note that applications downloaded directly from the Telegram website were confirmed to be unaffected by the security flaw.
Telegram emphasized their preferred channel for receiving security-related reports, stating, “We ask that all submissions be directed directly to security@telegram.org - Telegram does not currently track bug reports on third-party platforms.”
More detailed and technical information is available in the report.
Telegram Responded to Article Describing Telegram as a Dangerous Messenger for Ukrainians
The article criticizes all the nine points in which the article targeted Telegram with. According to an official response from Telegram:
• Telegram has never disclosed any data with the FSB or any other authorities in Russia, neither has made agreements with Russian authorities on the fights against terrorism and extremism.
• Telegram has a public monetization strategy and has raised capitals from international investors.
• Pavel Durov is not a Russian entrepreneur, rather half-Ukrainian.
• Telegram never blocked Navalny, and Smart Voting was limited only for three days under pressure from Google and Apple.
• Pavel Durov's letter to Novaya Gazeta was allegedly fabricated.
• Telegram never shared the data of German anti-vaccination activists. Even in most cases, Telegram was not able to provide the data requested by the authorities.
Read Telegram news in Ukrainian at @tginfouk.
The Brazilian Court Reportedly Partially Lifts the Ban on Telegram
According to a federal judge, the complete Telegram ban had impacts on the freedom speech and is not effectively related to the police investigation of which the ban was made in favor of.
It’s also worth noting that the fines remain enforced regardless of this.
#Brazil #ban