Telegram X is now open source

Telegram X is now fully open source. This release includes extra tools and measures to eliminate the possibility of client-side backdoors, makes code review and security research easier, and provides the ability for anyone to participate in Telegram X development.

• Each Telegram X version now includes information about the source code used to make it. This allows you to easily verify the code of the exact version you are using at any time from the Settings page.
• After you update to the first open source version, each future update will also allow you to check the new changes made to the source code.
• If you have an access to the installation APK file, you can verify that it was built by the Telegram X creator and was not modified by any third-party by sending its hash (MD5, SHA-1, or SHA-256) to the new official @tgx_bot or look it up in the by finding it in the @tgx_log channel.
• To confirm that the source code inside the APK corresponds to the source code linked in Settings, you can reproduce the APK using the guide available in README and verify that the compiled code is exactly the same. Every public Telegram X build is reproducible, that includes all beta versions uploaded to Google Play Beta.

On top of all that, a public chat has been created for communication between the developers of Telegram X. A link to it can be found in the repository.

Source code: https://github.com/TGX-Android/Telegram-X

#android #telegramX

Telegram bot for buying a Premium subscription

Telegram has a new bot for purchasing a Premium subscription within the messenger: @PremiumBot.

The editors of Telegram Info noticed that attempting to start the bot using old and an unofficial Telegram clients will display an error: “Unfortunately, this function is not available in your version of the application”. We therefore assume that it will be possible to buy a Premium subscription only in official clients.

At the moment, the bot is not working, and the GIF animation in the bot description can only be seen in the Beta version of Telegram for Android, available at @betainfoen.

UPD: On June 19, the bot changed its address and got a verification checkmark.

#premium

Photos in bot descriptions

In the future, bot developers might gain the ability to add a photo or GIF animation next to their bots' description (also known as "What can this bot do?").

This feature is implemented for both @DurgerKingBot and @PremiumBot. They're currently viewable in the Beta Version of Telegram for Android.

It is unknown whether the feature will be available to all bot developers or only to specific ones.

700 Million Users and Telegram Premium
⁠
Telegram for iOS, Android and Unigram client has been updated to version 8.8.
⚠️ Update for Telegram Desktop is still expected. For now a subscription can only be issued through the App Store.

Telegram now has over 700 million active users. To celebrate, we're launching Telegram Premium. This subscription helps support Telegram and gives you access to exclusive additional features. All existing Telegram features remain free for everyone.

Telegram Premium

4 GB Uploads
• Send media and files each up to 4 GB in size.

Faster Downloads
• Download media and files at the fastest possible speed, with no limits.

Doubled Limits
• Follow up to 1000 channels.
• Connect 4 accounts in any app.
• Organize your chats into 20 folders, holding 200 chats each.
• Pin 10 chats in your main list.
• Reserve up to 20 public t.me links.
• Save 400 favorite GIFs and 10 favorite stickers.
• Write a longer bio for your profile and include links.
• Include longer captions for photos and videos.

Voice-to-Text
• Get a new button next to any voice message to generate a transcript of its audio.

Unique Reactions and Stickers
• React with even more emoji, including :clown: and :hearteyes:
• Send unique stickers with additional effects, updated monthly.

Chat Management
• Set a default chat folder or enable tools to auto-archive and hide new chats.

Badges and Animated Profile Pictures
• Subscribers have a badge next to their name, showing they help support Telegram.
• Show off your profile video that will be animated for everyone in chats and the chat list.

No Ads
• Sponsored Messages that are sometimes shown in public channels will no longer appear.

App Icons
• Choose from several new Telegram icons for your home screen.

To subscribe and get access to these features, go to Settings > Telegram Premium.

New free features:
This update also includes many changes for all users – just like every future update will.

Join Requests for Public Groups
• Enable join requests for your public groups – no invite links required.
• Users who open the group will see an 'Apply to Join Group' button.
• Once approved by an admin, users will be able to participate in the chat.

Improved External Sharing
• Watch an animated progress bar when sharing large files and media to Telegram from other apps.

Verification Badges in Chats
• Verified groups and channels now also show their badge at the top of the chat.

Better Bots
• Include a photo or video in the "What can this bot do?" section of your bot.
• Bots that are integrated into the attachment menu can be programmed to work in groups and channels.

Improved support for ProMotion displays
• Smooth 120 FPS animations on all new iPads and iPhones.

Faster and Stronger
• Over 100 fixes and optimizations to improve speed and reliability.

Android: Google Play, APK from official website or verified channel.
iOS: App Store.
Telegram Desktop: with official website or GitHub.
Telegram for macOS: from App Store or verified channel.
Unigram for Windows 10: Microsoft Store | Download | Installation help

#update #Android #iOS #Desktop #macOS #Unigram

Premium can help combatting spammers

A verified @PremiumJoinBot bot was created which allows you to create chats, that only Premium users can join automatically. Admins can still accept regular users manually — this bot can be used to combat spammers.

When the user sends a join request, the bot checks the user for an active subscription and adds them to the group automatically. If the user doesn't have the subscription, the admins can verify them manually.

For the filter to work, group must have join requests activated, and the bot should have admin rights.

#premium

Add media to bot descriptions

@BotFather now allows setting a photo or a GIF to the bot description (aka "What can this bot do?").

To do it for a bot you own, open @BotFather › send /mybots command › choose your bot › select "Edit Bot", and then "Edit Description Picture".
You can either set a 640x360 image or a 320x180 GIF animation.

Earlier we have also mentioned it being used for some Telegram's official bots ahead of its general availability.

The update was released to Play Store, but without Premium yet

Version 8.8.0 for Android is already available at Google's app store. The official website doesn't have an update for the direct version yet.
Full changelog is here.

We expect an additional update soon, where Premium will become available for purchase. You can only use Premium if you have already purchased it on a different device.

#update #Android

Telegram Premium: additional account slots aren't so simple

Telegram Desktop developer explained how Telegram Premium multi account limits work.

As a beginning, a user gets 3 account slots for free. Premium subscription adds a single new slot per each Premium account you signed in with, up to 6 slots in total.

This way, subscribing for Telegram Premium from a single account allows you to add up to 4 accounts in total, but to have 6 slots you will need to subscribe from 3 different accounts.

You can't subscribe for Premium in different accounts from a single App Store / Google Play powered device, since these app stores don't support subscribing for the same subscription multiple times simultaneously.

Only Telegram Desktop can extend its limit up to 6 accounts by this scheme — other apps don't do that yet.

#premium

The Android app update was released to the website

Version 8.8.2 for Android is already available at the official website.
Full changelog is here.

Premium cannot be purchased yet, as the bot is currently inactive. The launch of the bot for all users will be announced separately.

Smart Glocal, the official Telegram partner and developer of the @donate bot, announced (in Russian) that it is also responsible for the @PremiumBot bot.

This bot can be trusted as it was created together with the Telegram team. Most likely, this payment system is designed to circumvent Apple's prohibition on setting a lower price when bypassing the App Store payment system.

UPD. Some users complain about the new reactions missing after the update — you may try uninstalling and then reinstalling the app to fix that.

#update #Android #premium

Telegram Desktop update is here

Version 4.0 can already be downloaded from the official website or from GitHub.

What's new
• Option to open chats in separate windows with Ctrl + Click (Settings › Advanced › Experimental settings).
• Support for Premium features, including multi-account up to six users.
• Improved the design of some sections, improved the style of buttons and icons in the folder settings, and added additional icons for folders.
• Improved window style for editing a folder.

Full changelog is here.

#update #Desktop #premium

Iranian and German users receive limited perks

Users with Iranian phone numbers report it's possible for them to purchase Premium, but they don't receive a star badge in their profile and don't have their video avatar played in loop.

German users report it's impossible for them to buy Premium at all.

#premium

Bot API was updated to version 6.1

What's new:
— To support 4GB files uploaded by premium accounts, file_size in most media classes can no longer be stored in a signed 32-bit integer type.
— Bots can now distinguish premium Users and Stickers with the new respective fields is_premium and premium_animation.
— Added several methods and fields to the class WebApp to handle API version, additional colors, haptic feedback and more.
— Added the events backButtonClicked, settingsButtonClicked and invoiceClosed.
— Updated ThemeParams, MainButton and WebAppInitData with new fields and methods.
— Bots can now process join requests created without an invite link — they will still receive a chat_join_request update.
— HTTP links for invoices can be generated with the new createInvoiceLink method.
— Bots can now detect when a user added them to their attachment menu via the new added_to_attachment_menu field. Integrated bots can now also be used in groups, supergroups and channels.

See the full changelog for details on the official website.

#update #BotAPI

How to suspend Telegram Premium?

Many users who paid for Telegram Premium through the verified @PremiumBot ask about how to cancel a paid subscription so that Telegram does not deduct money from your bank card every month?

To stop all future payments, just send the /stop command in the chat with @PremiumBot. To open the chat, just type the address of the bot in the messenger's search bar or find the chat with it in your chat list.

You can control the current subscription status and the date of the next payment by going to Settings › Telegram Premium section › Information under the list of all subscription benefits. From there, you can similarly go to the bot and suspend the Premium subscription.

#FAQ

3% of Telegram users with Premium subscription will cover the server costs

Pavel Durov announced the required number of Telegram Premium subscribers to cover Telegram's server costs.

"The beauty of Telegram Premium is that if just 2,5-3% of our users sign up for this subscription, Telegram will cover its costs, supported purely by its users. This will herald a new, user-centric era in the history of social media services."

The speech to text feature is safe

Pavel Durov explained why using Google's speech to text service from Telegram format is a safe and optimal solution:

— Telegram does not share users' personal data with Google.
— Telegram never sends audio data to third parties.
— Google can't make use of the depersonalized sound data other than converting them into text and returning them back.
— It was easier for Telegram to deploy its own free solution, or just use a service from smaller companies, but it would leave negative impacts on the quality of the results.
— Trusting Google remains as personal choice of Telegram Premium subscribers.

This information regarding the speech to text feature was obtained from the Telegram Privacy Policy (clause 8.5).

Telegram Desktop has been updated to version 4.0.1 and then to 4.0.2

What's new:
— Fix window title on Windows 7.
— Crash fix and OpenAL check for PipeWire fix on Linux.
— Bug fixes and other minor improvements.

Download: with official website or GitHub.

#update #desktop

Spendings of Telegram in 2022

According to Forbes, now the messenger’s expenses are $540 million annually, or $45 million per month.

Over the past two years, Telegram's audience has grown from 400 to 700 million monthly active users, and the cost per user has grown from $0.55 to $0.77 per year.

According to Forbes, an increase in costs is inevitable due to increased user activity and rising costs of server hardware.

#statistics

Telegram might have medical ads in future

Telegram has updated its Ad Platform guidelines. Now only uncertified medical services and medications are forbidden. Before that, the rules were banning any sorts of medical services, medications, and supplements.

The guidelines specify that only products that passed all certifications according to local laws are allowed. Also the products can't be implicitly or explicitly related to any unverified health and wellness benefits.

Examples of products that are not allowed:
• Nutrition products, including weight loss or gain products, herbal drugs, dietary supplements, pregnancy, and fertility-related products.
• Medicines or supplements not approved by the respective local regulatory body.
• Sale of medicines or medical products by a shop or entity that is not state-registered and authorized.
• Unlicensed medical devices, services and treatments.
• Prescriptions for medications.
• Products with unverified claims of healthful, curative or stimulating effects.

To participate in Telegram's Ad Platform, advertisers have to invest at least 2,000,000 €.

As a side note, Telegram Premium lists ad-free experience as one of its benefits.

Profile picture builder on Telegram for macOS

Version 8.8 of Telegram for macOS now can build avatars for users, chats, and channels. The feature is similar to the one found in iMessage. Other platforms don't have avatar builder yet. App Store update is unavailable yet too, so you will have to download the app directly from the website.

The builder lets you
• Choose an animated emoji, animated stickers from Telegram, or a monogram.
• Change its size and position.
• Choose one of gradient and pattern presets.

From the parameters you set, a video-avatar is generated. Telegram Premium users always have their video-avatars played in loop automatically, which is a nice addition to the new feature.

Would you like to see the profile picture builder on other platforms, or do you consider the feature to be unnecessary?

#macOS

Official bot for tracking government requests

Telegram has launched @transparency — a bot that can be used to obtain information about the user data shared with governments around the world, data such as the user's IP address or phone number (as mentioned in clause 8.3 of the Privacy Policy).

Users can only see transparency records of the country to which their phone number belongs. That said, Telegram will not be disclosing users' data with countries or regions with a low democracy index.

The public address @transparency was previously used by another official channel which was for broadcasting data disclosure information. Although even after the 4th year of its existence, nothing was published there, which might mean that the requests of the authorities were not satisfied.