Premium owners will have access to a wider range of story self-destruction options

The Telegram Translations platform added a mention of extended self-destruction options available only to Premium owners. Users with a subscription will be able to set timers for story self-destruction to values that are not available to free users.

#stories

How will Telegram Stories work and what will they feature

The @tginfo editorial team has analyzed new strings on the Telegram translations platform and speculates on how stories will work:

• It seems like on the initial launch only Premium users will be able to publish Stories, and wider availability coming later.
• Stories will have a dual-camera recording feature, allowing simultaneous use of the main and front cameras.
• Users will be able to mention (@username) people in their stories. Mentioned users will receive notifications.
• Unfinished stories can be saved as drafts.
• Stories can have text captions.
• Users will have control over the lifespan of their stories. Certain self-destruction options will be available only to Premium users.
• Stories can be archived and restored from the archive.
• Stories can be pinned to the profile until manually removed.
• Stories can have custom emojis in their stories, and a button will be displayed to save the displayed emoji pack.
• It seems like stories can be edited after publication.
• There will be a limit on the number of stories that can be published within 24 hours.
• Story owners will be able to view a list of views (this list will disappear 24 hours after the story is hidden from the public).

• You can restrict downloading, screenshots, and screen recording tools.
• Story privacy options: close friends list, public, contacts only.
• If you make a story available only to close friends, the users added to this category will be notified.
• You can disable replies to stories.

• You can reply to stories in private.
• You can forward stories.
• Stories can be zoomed in by pinching the screen.
• You will be able to enable notifications for new stories.
• Telegram will suggest enabling notifications for new stories from the five users you interact with most frequently.

It is important to note that all information is based on strings from the translations platform, so the story mechanism may undergo some changes before its release.

#stories

New Archive settings in Telegram

More flexible Archive settings will be added in the coming update. Our editors noticed following options in strings on Telegram's Translation platform:

• Option to prevent all unmuted chats from leaving the archive on new notification.
• Option to prevent chats included into one the custom folders from leaving the archive on new notification.

Right now, if the chat is included in a folder by the automatic filter by chat type, it will continue leaving the archive. We are not sure if this will change in the coming update.

Telegram's stats are still unstable

Our followers report stats are still flaky.

Some people tell the stats don't load at all, just like it was reported on July 15, while for some others stats do load, but show incorrect data, like wrong subscribers counters.

#outages #stats

More information about the upcoming update in Telegram

The code update in the official repository of Telegram Desktop on GitHub has provided more details regarding the upcoming update in addition to the list we previously published:

• Changelogs in stories

In future Telegram updates, the platform is likely to start sharing its changelogs in the form of stories.

• Different limits for Telegram Premium owners and regular users

Story caption: 200 characters for regular users and 2048 characters for Telegram Premium owners.

Story self-destruct timer: We are still not certain, but it seems that it will be possible to set a lifespan for stories up to 30 days (or hours, as there is no exact information yet) for regular users and up to 100 days for Premium users. There are no screenshots on the translation platform that include such values.

• Ability to report stories

Stories will be displayed on user profiles. In the stories themselves, it will be possible to mention (@username) other users, who will receive corresponding notifications. In order to prevent abuse of this feature, the messenger's team will add violation reporting functionality for stories.

• New format for in-app advertising

A new advertising format will be introduced in channels (not in stories): image + text + link. The link can also lead to an external resource, for which Telegram will add click tracking for advertising links.

It is important to note that all information is based on assumptions from the API schema, so the story mechanism may undergo some changes before the release.

#stories #aboutAds

Stories — already in Telegram!

This month, uploading stories is only available to users with a Telegram Premium subscription.

It is known that no more than 100 stories can be uploaded per day, and reactions to the published "stories" comes to private chat with their author.

The new version can already be downloaded from the links below:

Android: Google Play, APK from official website or verified channel.
iOS: App Store.
Desktop: from the official site or from GitHub.
macOS: App Store, from the official website or from a verified channel.
Unigram for Windows 10+: Microsoft Store | Direct download | Installation instructions

Removing Stories From the Chat List

While it is currently not possible to completely hide the stories section, you can hide stories of specific users.

Option 1
In the stories section, tap and hold someone’s profile picture, then choose “Hide Stories”. This moves their stories to the Archive so you no longer see them.

To unhide the stories, just go to the archived chats, tap and hold the user’s profile picture again, and choose “Unhide Stories”.

Option 2
Open the user’s profile, and remove them as a contact.

Note that their stories might reappear if you have contact synchronization turned on and they are in your phone’s contacts. To make sure they won’t reappear, either remove the user from your phone’s contacts, or completely disable contact synchronization in Settings > Privacy.

#FAQ #stories

The Advertisement Platform Testing Phase Is Supposedly Over

Recently, a paragraph in the explanation of Sponsored Messages was removed which was indicating that the feature is currently under testing:

Sponsored Messages are currently in test mode. Once they are fully launched and allow Telegram to cover its basic costs, we will start sharing ad revenue with the owners of public channels in which Sponsored Messages are displayed.

To view this explanation yourself, find any sponsored message, click the “Sponsored” label, and choose “What are sponsored messages?”.

We are currently unaware of any plans for sharing ad revenue with public channel owners.

#aboutAds

Reactions on behalf of channels

Now, on behalf of your public channels, you can not only send messages to public groups but also leave reactions under them, as well as participate in polls.

To act on behalf of a channel, select a channel you own to the left of the message input line. When a channel is selected, all reactions and votes will be sent on behalf of that channel.

You cannot mix reactions on your behalf and your channels. For example, if you first put a reaction on your behalf, and then the second on behalf of the channel, then the first reaction will change its author to the channel.

Reactions on behalf of chats are also available, but only for the chat creator. To do this, the chat owner must give himself the right to anonymity, then he will be able not only to leave anonymous messages but also to put anonymous reactions.

#reactions #premium

Telegram Stories and Foursquare

In the server configuration of Telegram, a new parameter named stories_venue_search_username appeared, which mentions the username of the official bot @foursquare. This may be a hint for geolocalization widgets support in stories.

Foursquare is a service that provides information about places and attractions. In the messenger apps, this service's bot is used in the Interface Attachment Menu > Location.

The Telegram Info team suggests that this parameter could be related to the future ability to add geotags to stories.

Whether it will be possible to create your own bots to work with stories in Telegram is unknown.

#stories

Telegram Data Center Is Unstable

Some of our subscribers have reported that DC2 has been unstable for more than two hours starting 15:00 UTC. They have noticed that comments take a longer time to load, the “Connecting...” indicator being displayed too often, and a number of other issues.

Pinging DC2 results in a clearly increased response time, and even lost packets.

#outages

Telegram X Android updated to stable version 0.25.6.1647

What's new:
— Added built-in translation tool: Settings — Language — Translation.
— Advanced text formatting and draft translation.
— View and Set Emoji Status if you have Telegram Premium subscription.

Fixed:
— Peer-to-peer voice calls now rely on the new library, which fixes issues when calling people with an iOS-based device and improves quality
— In-app YouTube player now works through web frame, as Google has dropped native player support
— Telegram X now relies on fully public & reproducible TDLib version & OpenSSL 1.1.1u
— Bugfixes and improvements.

Read more about this update in the article: telegra.ph/Telegram-X-08-02

Download from Google Play, or now from official channel @tgx_log.

#android #telegramX #update

Telegram Banned in Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Communications announced that they are banning access to Telegram for reasons related to “national security”.

In the statement the ministry points out that the government tried to contact Telegram multiple times to establish cooperation around blocking Iraqi citizen sensitive info leaks, but the messenger never responded.

The Ministry of Communications affirms its respect for citizens' rights to freedom of expression and communication, without compromising the security of the state and its institutions, and expresses its confidence in citizens' understanding of this measure [banning Telegram]. — The Iraqi Ministry of Communications

In the regions of Iraq where Telegram is banned, Telegram has been gaining popularity over Facebook products (WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram Direct). Iraqi state representatives are still publishing news to Telegram regardless of the ban. Some have already announced their migration to alternative platforms.

Users from Iraq have been reporting connectivity issues since yesterday, they are still able to circumvent the ban with proxies and VPNs. There is also an increasing number of reports on DownDetector regarding this.

The DownDetector reports not only come from Iraq, but also from countries which are near it: Georgia and Turkey. Twitter users from Iraq, Georgia, and Turkey are reporting Telegram connectivity issues, too. The cause of the issues in Georgia and Turkey is still unclear. It may be that the ban in one country has affected others because of the cross-dependent Internet infrastructure in countries located close to each other — cases like these have happened before.

One of the main reasons for the ban is the numerous data leaks of Iraqi citizens from government databases that were distributed on Telegram and other platforms since then. The government might be trying to seize access to the leaked data, prevent criticism, or pressure Telegram into cooperation.

#Iraq #bans

MIUI identifies Telegram as a dangerous app

Xiaomi's new MIUI security feature has identified Telegram as a dangerous app.

The new feature, which was launched in China in February 2022, scans sideloaded apps "for security vulnerabilities and illegal content".
If an app is found to contain malware or other harmful content, MIUI will force users to uninstall it. There are claims that the incident also gets reported to Chinese police, but there's no clear evidence on that.

The scanner claims Telegram contains fraudulent content, and thus must not be used.

Listing Telegram as a dangerous app is probably another sign of the Chinese government's crackdown on free speech and privacy. In recent years, the Chinese government has blocked or limited access to an increasing number of websites and apps, including Facebook, Twitter, and Google.

#xiaomi #censorship

Telegram Stories for Non-Premium Users

Telegram’s server configuration has been updated and now features different story posting limits for regular and Premium users.

This might mean that in the next update Telegram will allow everyone to post stories, no Telegram Premium subscription required.

It is important to note that the values on the screenshot are from Telegram’s test server and they may differ on release.

Telegram Info assumes this is not the only restriction stories will have for regular users.

UPD: For the main server (following the test one), preliminary values for limits on the number of published stories appeared.

#stories #limits

Iraq to Lift the Telegram Ban

In a recent announcement (alt), the Iraqi Ministry of Communications stated that the Telegram ban will be lifted by tomorrow, August 13.

The decision is response to Telegram establishing a communication channel and expressing their readiness to expose those who leaked citizens’ data. — The Iraqi Ministry of Communications

Some users have noticed that Telegram has already started to work again without using proxies. This comes after several suspected channels and bots were banned.

About a week ago, Telegram was banned in Iraq (excluding the autonomous Kurdistan Region), and blamed for being a distribution channel for citizens’ leaked data and ignoring cooperation requests from the Iraqi government.

#Iraq #bans