4 years since Facebook introduced such a feature, Telegram is now one of the latest high profile social apps to allow users to upload videos in place of the traditional profile picture.
In the latest update to the Telegram app, version 6.3, users are able to select a frame from the profile video for use as a static profile picture in applicable scenarios, like chats, for instance. Users can also use stickers to add some oomph to their profile video(s).
A nifty feature that will be a saving grace for many – sparing us the embarrassment that we have suffered in the past – is the addition of what Telegram is calling “chat list thumbnails”.
When someone sends you a photo, you’ll be able to have a peek at what that may be without needing to open the chat. Just a glance at the chat list, the default view of Telegram apps on desktop and mobile, will reveal what it is that you have been sent. Should you be searching, the same thumbnail(s) will be displayed. The thumbnail(s) will also be visible from the notification – dropdown (on Android). So, next time someone decides to get dirty with you, you will know beforehand, sparing your the impending embarrassment – thank God for social distancing, by the way.
For group admins, the latest Telegram update brings with it the ability to view detailed group activity using some nice informative graphs that will reveal who engages in the most chatter in the group and who types and sends the longest messages – those of us who detest shorthand and Urban Dictionary-style lingo are about to be found out. The only caveat here is that your Telegram group needs to be large – at least 500 members – for you to access the feature. There are plans to lower that number to just a fifth but for now, iriz what iriz.
Other features include improvements to Telegram’s WeChat-like People Nearby feature (you can now see how far someone is), a “beauty mode” of some sort that can be used when you take photos or videos using the selfie camera, the ability to mute and archive chats from people that aren’t in your contacts list automatically, the ability to use multiple accounts when on the desktop app, a redesigned music player, the ability to crop and rotate videos and, now that there’s room to do more with multimedia content, a bump up in the amount of content one can share. There’s now a whopping 2GB ceiling for transferring files of any type via Telegram.
