Telegram Inc. has rolled out a massive new update to its eponymous messaging app, bringing a number of new features, improvements and bug fixes. While most of the changes affect end-users directly, one of the most notable features is actually aimed at cyber-security researchers, enabling them to verify that open-source app developers on the platform are using the exact code they’ve released on Github to build the final app that’s available on the App Store or Google Play.
Theme Editor 2.0
As for the client-side features, there’s a new theme editor that can be accessed from ‘Chat Settings’ on Android and ‘Appearance Settings’ on iOS. It allows users to quickly tweak the style of elements in Telegram chats by adding new gradients to outgoing messages, as well as the app background. The update also includes dozens of new patterns, including Parisian motifs and cat images. The default themes also comes with a number of predefined designs, like Classic, Night, Day, and more.
Send When Online
As its name suggests, the ‘Send When Online’ feature enables senders to schedule messages to be sent when the intended recipient comes online. Note that this option is only available if the sender is allowed to see the recipient’s online status.
Updated Location Sharing
Location-sharing has been updated to make finding venues easier. Users can now tap a place directly on the map to select it, rather than scrolling through a ton of names in a list.
Search Results as a List
Like with any other application, the ‘search’ function allows users to find a word or phrase in a particular chat thread or even from a certain day. The new update now enables users to tap on the bottom bar to see all the matches in a ‘list’ view on the same page rather than having to scroll the entire thread to the one they’re looking for.
Podcast and Audiobook Support
Users will now also be able to resume the playback of podcasts and audiobooks from where they left off, although, the feature will only be available for audio files longer than 20 minutes. The update also brings a ‘2x button’ that enables users to get to the point a little faster. Moreover Telegram claims they’ve managed to prevent the voice-chipmunking effect in over 96% cases, which is great.
Other Changes on Android
In addition to all of the above, the Android version of the app gets a few other minor features, including a one-tap option to switch to dark mode with the so-called Night Mode Switch at the top of the menu. Locations shared via Google Maps will now also appear in Night Mode, said the company. Apart from that, there are a few new animations, gesture support on Profile pages and the ability to select only a portion of a message instead of the entire text. Users will now also be able to share content from other apps with multiple recipients.
Other Changes on iOS
The new options on iOS include the ability to adjust the font size throughout the app, as well as the option to choose the default browser to open outgoing links with. The latter option can be accessed from Settings > Data and Storage > Other. Users will also be able to swiftly switch accounts right from their home screen on iOS 13 by simply holding down on the app icon and choosing the new account from the popup menu. There are a few other minor tweaks as well, and you can see them by clicking on the source link below.
