This update brings an auto-delete timer for messages in any chat, as well as new flexible invite links and faster access to your chats with home screen widgets. Also, groups can now have unlimited members.
Auto-Delete Messages
Some conversations aren't meant to last forever, which is why Telegram users can delete messages for all participants in a conversation at any time, without a trace. Since 2013, users can also set a self-destruct timer for messages in Secret Chats.
Starting today, you can enable an auto-delete timer in all Telegram chats, which will automatically erase messages for all participants either 24 hours or 7 days after sending.
Auto-delete only applies to messages sent after the timer is set, earlier messages will stay in the chat history. Unlike in Secret Chats, the countdown starts when messages are sent, not read.
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.
All messages show a countdown to their deletion time – simply tap on Android or press and hold on iOS to take a look.
In groups and channels, only admins can enable or modify the timer.
Home Screen Widgets
For instant access to your most important chats, add a Telegram widget to your home screen. The Chat Widget shows a preview of recent messages, while the Shortcut Widget shows only names and profile pictures.
On Android, chats and messages in the widget will always be up to date, and you can further expand the widget to take up more of your screen. On iOS, widgets will only get fresh data occasionally and can't be expanded – this is due to system limitations.
To add a widget, press and hold on your home screen, then tap Widgets on Android or the (+) on iOS and search for Telegram.
Expiring Invite Links
Invite links are a quick and easy way to bring 1 or 1 million people to your groups and channels. Along with the main invite link, owners and admins can now create additional links with a limited duration, number of uses, or both.
Any invite link can be converted into a scannable QR Code to put on everything from brochures to billboards. You can also see which users joined using each invite link to find out where new members came from or which format has been most effective for growth.
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.
Groups with Unlimited Members
Telegram groups allow up to 200,000 members to exchange messages, media and stickers. Groups that are close to the limit can now convert into Broadcast Groups that allow unlimited members.
Converting to a Broadcast Group makes it so that only admins can send messages, but members can still join voice chats.
Broadcast Groups are ideal for large communities, where people can follow along and catch exclusive interviews, news, or just casual talks.
Improved Chat Import
Our developers are continuing to refine and expand the chat import feature added to Telegram last month. With today’s update, imported messages will now appear sorted by their original date if added to a Telegram chat that is new or has fewer than 1000 messages.
Sorting by original date is currently available when importing to all one-on-one chats, all newly created groups, and smaller existing groups.
Improved Reporting System
Telegram processes millions of user reports each month to make sure the platform is not abused. To help make this more efficient, we will now always ask you to select specific messages when sending a report.
Additionally, all reporting options allow you to add a comment to give more context – like when reporting fake accounts.
And More Animated Emoji
A new update always means new animations, so test out the new characters below by sending a single emoji in any chat.
That's all for today's changes, this message will now delete in 3, 2, 1 … oh. Never mind, this is a blog post, they don't do that yet.
February 23, 2021
The Telegram Team
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