The team developing Telegram messaging announces several new features to strengthen the security of its application. Default message encryption is not part of the game, however.
Like Signal , Telegram enjoyed high visibility at the start of the year following the controversy over WhatsApp . For the company, this is an opportunity to strengthen its development and retain its new arrivals with some new features.
Generalization of ephemeral messages
Telegram extends the functionality of ephemeral messages. Integrated in 2013 into private messaging conversations, this option is now available on all exchanges, even those that are not encrypted.
However, like WhatsApp, this functionality is particularly limited since the automatic deletion schedule can only be set for 24 hours or 7 days after sending.
The team specifies that this new option only concerns messages that will be sent after its activation. Big difference also with Signal: the countdown starts after the message has been sent and not read by the recipient.
In groups or channels, only admins are able to enable or change the countdown options.
Better group management
Telegram is also announcing widgets for Android and iOS. On Google's mobile OS, the team explains that the refresh is carried out in real time and that the module can be enlarged by pressing on it to obtain more information. However on iOS, the system imposes several limits and the information is only updated periodically.
Invite links to a group or channel can be valid for a limited time or capped at a certain number of clicks. For example, the publisher of a new mobile application may want to limit testers to a few dozen and create a link. Note also that these invitation links can now automatically generate a QR code.
Telegram discussion groups bring together 200,000 members. If this limit is reached, they can then turn into a distribution center without any imposed limit. However, only administrators will be able to post messages there. For their part, users will be able to communicate by voice messages.
Other new features include an improvement to the message import tool with a date classification for recent Telegram accounts or with less than 1,000 messages
Source: Telegram