Telegram has added several new features as a part of its latest update which is rolling out for both iOS and Android devices. New chat and privacy features aside, the new update also adds better controls for group admins and brings more features to smaller groups. Group admins can now choose to hide members in a particular group to protect their members from unwanted personal messages. Topics, which were earlier available only for larger groups(with over 200 members) is now available for all groups. Users can also show their profile image to specific users, while setting a "public profile picture" for everyone else.
According to details shared by the messaging service, users will now be able to hide media in chats by using spoiler formatting. While the feature was previously available for text messages, it's now available to cover both photos and videos. The feature adds a shimmering layer which blurs the image until the recipient taps it to view the hidden content.
The new update lets users add separate auto-remove settings for messages in private chats, groups or channels. The chat app has always allowed re-downloading of content from its cloud servers to save space on a device, and also let users set a maximum cache size as well. The update adds a new pie chart visual along with special tabs for media, files and music, which gives users a clearer idea about what can be deleted to save storage space. iOS users will also notice faster load times for previewing cache size. Progress animations on Android, whether users are uploading a photo or opening a link now appear smoother.
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Telegram will now let users set a profile picture of their choice for their individual contacts. The set pictures will only be visible to the user and no one else. At the same time, users can even share or suggest a good profile picture to their contact and the feature makes it easier for the recipient to set it as their profile picture, if they wish to do so. The update also lets users set public profile photos. This picture could be something generic and different from the one that's visible to known contacts. Telegram has even added the ability to set visibility to ‘Nobody' and then add some users or groups as exceptions.
The new update also brings drawing and text tools for users. The new drawing tool will automatically change the width of the stroke depending on drawing speed and will also smoothen lines as well. A new blur tool that can blur out sensitive text and even people while sharing images has also made its way to the app. There's also a new eye-dropper tool to pick colours. Custom animated emoji for text on images are now available for both premium and regular users. The update adds 10 new custom animated emoji for premium subscribers, according to the company.
