Telegram, the popular messaging app, is rolling out a slew of upgrades as part of its January feature drop. These new features include the much-awaited “view-once” option for video and audio messages, the ability to pause recording while sending a video or audio message, and added controls for read-time.
The app first introduced the “view-once” feature for photos and videos in one-on-one chats back in September 2023. Now, this feature is being extended to voice and video messages as well. Users can simply tap the mic icon to start recording and then pull up to enable the “view-once” option, allowing the recipient to view the message just once.
In addition to this, users can now also pause and resume recording for voice and video messages through the same menu.
Telegram is also introducing a new feature for one-on-one private chats, showing when the recipient has read your message. However, users have the option to turn this off in their settings.
For premium users, Telegram is offering some new features as well. They can now hide their read time, but still view someone else’s if it is made public. Additionally, they also have the ability to choose who can send them messages first – either “Everyone” or “My Contacts and Premium Users.”
Last month, Telegram focused on improving channel discovery and customization, and later in the month, it introduced better calls with end-to-end encryption for improved battery usage. The company also revamped their bot platform, allowing bots to react to messages, manage reactions and quotes, send replies to other chats or topics, and more.
