Telegram’s new features enable users to replace media, speed through voice messages

Image: Telegram via AFP Relaxnews

The encrypted messenger app Telegram has added more features and nifty tricks to its iOS and Android versions that allow users to further customize and manage their messages.

It is regularly making headlines as some governments work to ban the popular messaging service for being too-private and secure, therefore potentially giving terrorists a safe place to confidentially plan attacks. Furthermore, the app developers refuse to hand over encryption keys, which earns them more trust with their over 200 million monthly users.

Self-destructing messages are an attractive feature of the app, allowing users to set a timer for how long the conversation can be viewed. Then there’s the ability to delete what has been written and sent, for everybody. Now, Telegram is introducing the same function for media. As the announcement for “Replace Media and Add Captions notes, “Sending the wrong picture by accident is rarely fun,” therefore photos and video can be replaced with correct versions and captions can also be added later.

As the name suggests “Double-Time Playback for Voice and Video Messages” will speed up long voice messages from rambling friends, and according to Telegram, they’ve spent “a few extra hours to ensure that your friends don’t sound like Helium-breathing chipmunks as a result. Well, most of the times.”

To better know which messages to pay attention to or go back to, there is now also the ability to “mark as read or unread.”

Users wanting to share more than just their mobile number can now select or deselect multiple contact info options, such as alternative phone numbers, job title, address, birthday, and so on.

Android fans will be getting a “few extra goodies with version 4.8.10.” including chat previews, triggered by tapping and holding on a profile picture in the main chat list window. Then there’s also “create link,” a new option in the formatting menu to make text URLs, and last but not least, “it is now possible to cancel sending messages before they are sent.”

The update is rolling out this week. JB

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