Another winner is @pvashenko. Due to a technical issue, Pavel was not mentioned among the winners published above. To make up for our oversight, we award him with $2000. Congratulations!

Bot API 4.2 is here: Native Telegram polls, pinned messages in basic groups and more.

Full changelog:
https://core.telegram.org/bots/api-changelog#april-14-2019

Today the Russian authorities tried to hack 4 journalists covering the Ekaterinburg protests. Fortunately, all those attempts have failed due to the 2-step verification check.

This serves as a reminder that authoritarian governments will stop at nothing to violate their citizens' privacy. We urge users in such countries to double check that they have 2-step verification set up.

Stay safe and stay strong 💪🏾

Woah! Archived chats is now available at desktop:

Introducing Archived Chats in version 1.7:

- Archive any chat from the right-click menu.
- Chats with enabled notifications will pop out of the archive when a notification arrives.
- Muted chats will stay in the archive.
- Pin an unlimited number of chats in your archive.

Introducing Bot API 4.3: Seamless Telegram Login for web services and more.

Full changelog:
https://core.telegram.org/bots/api-changelog#may-31-2019

The source code for Telegram v.5.7 is available on GitHub

https://github.com/DrKLO/Telegram

resist telegram 💪

According to rumours, Telegram is working on improving public chat groups with a new feature:

▶️ Add geolocation to chat group. With that, you will be able to find chat groups near you.

ℹ️ @geeksChannel

BTW today, facebook launched libra. His own cryptocurrency (supported by Visa, Mastercard, Paypal...). They got plans to integrate this coin into whatsapp to make payments easier for the users.

Since early 2018, we know that Telegram got plans to create his own cryptocurrency too (gram). In fact, that coin will be just a little piece of a bigger ecosystem called TON. Some rumours are saying that TON release is imminent.

For both companies, facebook and telegram, this coin is going to be a game changer.

ℹ️ @geeksChannel

You can send maps with your live location to any chat or group. Tap the paper clip and hit Location, then "Share my live location for..." Your hobbit friend will know exactly when to put the kettle on.

Animated stickers are coming 😎

ℹ️ @geeksChannel