If you are one of the millions who abandoned the WhatsApp ship because of its upcoming privacy policy that shares your data with the entire Facebook umbrella of companies, you’ll be happy to note that your chosen messaging app is adding new features all the time. The latest update brings a couple of new widgets, auto-deleting messages, expiring invitation links, and a whole lot more. we’ve got the details for you after the break.
Auto-delete Messages
You know how it is, you’re chatting with your bestie or partner and saying things that are fine in the moment but that you’d be mortified if they were read a year from now. Luckily, Telegram is adding the option to set an auto-delete timer in all chats, letting your choose to delete messages in 24 hours or a week from when you sent the message, automatically. You’ll need to set the time before you start sending messages, like we’ve detailed below:
- To enable the timer on Android, tap ⋮ > Clear History then choose a duration.
- On iOS, press and hold a message, tap Select > Clear Chat (top-left) > Enable Auto-Delete.
Home Screen Widgets
Tired of the effort taken to tap on the Telegram app to see your recent messages? You’ll love the new Chat widget that lets you preview recent messages, along with the Shortcut widget that shows names and profile pictures.
- To add a widget, press and hold on your home screen, then tap Widgets on Android or the (+) on iOS and search for Telegram.
Invite Links
You know how it is, the person you invited to chat a while back hasn’t accepted the invite and you’ve forgotten that you sent it in the first place. And now that you’ve changed your mind the invitee decides to accept the chance to chat to you. Now you can limit how long the link is active and also how many times it’s used.
You can also convert an invite link into a scannable QR code, which is handy for brochures and mass emails.
- To view and manage invite links, tap to open your Group or Channel’s Profile > Edit > Invite Links. Tap (⋮) or (⋯) to convert a link to a QR Code.
Unlimited Group Numbers
Telegram groups with close to 200,000 members can now be converted into Broadcast Groups that allow unlimited members, although it will mean that only admins can send messages with members restricted to joining voice chats.
More Emoji
As with every other update to the Telegram app, a bunch of new emoji have been added, and this time we’ve got new hearts, hand gestures (both friendly and not), a clown and some bubbly emoji.
Download it Here: Telegram (Play Store Link)
