Bot API was updated to version 6.8

What's new:
• Added the field story to the class Message for messages with forwarded stories. Currently, it holds no information.
• Added the field voter_chat to the class PollAnswer, to contain channel chat voters in Polls. For backward compatibility, the field user in such objects will contain the user 136817688 (@Channel_Bot).
• Added the field emoji_status_expiration_date to the class Chat.
• Added the method unpinAllGeneralForumTopicMessages.
• Increased to 512 characters the maximum length of the startapp parameter in direct Web App links.

See the full changelog for details on the official website.

#update #BotAPI

Telegram Data Center Is Unstable

DC2 users are currently experiencing issues in using Telegram. The status hangs on "Updating...".

Symptoms: displaying the inscription "Connecting ..." in the title and others.

#outages

Back To Stable

Telegram was unstable for around 40 minutes, and at some point it was impossible to send and receive messages. However, the issue seems to be fixed now.

#outages

Telegram has been blocked in Somalia.

The Somali government has made the decision to block the TikTok and Telegram applications, as well as the online betting website 1XBET, within the country, stating that they are being used by "terrorists" for propagandistic purposes.

According to the Ministry's information, these listed platforms are being utilized by "terrorists" and "groups promoting immorality" to disseminate violent images and videos, as well as to mislead the public.

This decision was made ahead of the second phase of a military offensive against the radical Islamists known as "Al-Shabaab," who have been conducting a bloody uprising against the central government in Mogadishu for over 15 years.

The Ministry of Communication and Technology, in its statement, indicated that it has instructed internet providers to cut off access to these three platforms by August 24th. Legal actions will be taken against those who fail to comply with this requirement, the nature of which is not specified.

#bans #Somalia

Telegram Desktop updated to version 4.9.2

What's new:
— Remove single recently used emoji or reset the list from context menu.
— Change all emoji skin colors from Emoji & People section.
— Connected Websites section in Settings > Privacy and Security.
— Bug fixes and other minor improvements.

Download: from official website or GitHub.

#update #desktop

Stories from Telegram

An increasing number of users are starting to see stories posted on behalf of Telegram. These stories visually showcase some of the story features from the messenger’s latest update.

Previously, we reported that the Telegram team intends to share information about app updates in a new format (in addition to the long-standing text updates in the messenger’s official account).

It isn’t possible to hide these stories from the main screen using the same method as hiding stories from contacts: the standard hiding method is not available in this case.

#Stories

Does The Ability to Post Stories Without Having Premium Subscription Depend on Your Region?

In the version 10.0.0 of Telegram's mobile applications, posting Stories became available even to accounts without a Telegram Premium subscription. However, many users have discovered that this feature hasn't appeared for them.

The editorial team at @tginfoen believes that the ability to post Stories for users without a premium subscription depends on the country's phone code linked to the Telegram account.

For instance, in Russia, Ukraine, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, India and Iran, publishing Stories without Telegram Premium isn't possible, whereas users from Belarus and Kazakhstan are permitted to do so.

A detailed article about the editorial team's observations and story publication in other countries is available at the following link: tginfo.me/stories-by-countries-en

Update on August 28, 2023: Telegram Stories feature is now available to users with Uzbekistan phone number.

#Stories

Stories is Now Available in Uzbekistan

In a recent article, we addressed the absence of Stories in several countries, Uzbekistan included. Users have reported that it's now possible to post stories without a Premium subscription by using an Uzbek phone number. We're also looking into expansion of this feature to other countries, but availability details are still pending.

#Uzbekistan #Stories

New Features on the Telegram Ads Platform

Over the past few weeks Telegram Ads (the official advertising platform) has undergone several significant changes. Let’s explore the new possibilities now available to advertisers:

• External links with no length restrictions:
This new feature allows advertisers to add special UTM tags to the URLs entered, providing detailed information about each traffic source.

• Fast food advertising now permitted:
The previous ban on promoting fast food products on the platform has been completely lifted.

• Information about reasons for ad rejection:
Telegram now informs advertisers which specific group of requirements their ad doesn’t meet, such as “Destination quality”, “Destination functionality”, “Irrelevant destinations”, or “Manipulation of content.”

• Metrics viewing for CTR, CPM, CPC, CPS of published ads:
Thanks to this new feature, advertisers can assess the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns.

• Ability to use custom emojis in ad text:
Capture the attention of potential clients and subscribers using unconventional emojis.

#AboutAds

Telegram Desktop updated to version 4.9.4

What's new:
— Default private chats / groups / channels notification settings.
— Forwarded / reply-to-a-story icon in chats list message preview.
— Bug fixes and other minor improvements.

Download: from official website or GitHub.

#update #desktop

Indonesian Users Can Now Post Stories Without Premium

Our readers report users with Indonesian phone numbers now can post stories without Telegram Premium.

We keep looking into expansion of this feature into other countries, final availability details are still pending.

We maintain a list of countries in our article.

Subscribe to @tginfo in Indonesian.

#Indonesia #stories

Telegram Is Preparing to Bring Stories to Channels

According to crawled data from @tgcrawl, changes were made in Telegram for Android that indicate that stories are coming for channels.

From the changes we can guess that there will be a boosting system similar to Discord’s. For example, the number of the stories that can be posted might depend on the number of boosts received by the channel form its subscribers.

Apparently, only Telegram Premium users will be able to boost channels.

#stories

Updates to Web Bots, Stories for Channels and Channel Boosts

Telegram's Beta version for Android update hints at several upcoming features, as analyzed by the @tginfo team.

Channel stories and boosts
It seems that Telegram is working on a "boost" system for channels, reminiscent of Discord's. Boosts will allow channel subscribers to vote for their favorite channels. These boosts might unlock special features for administrators, such as the ability to post stories to the channel. The exact features and rewards based on this system are still unknown. There could be different levels with varying limits and functionalities, and the number of stories available for posting might depend on the number of boosts received.

It seems like only Telegram Premium subscribers will be able to boost, and as of now, it looks like Premium users will have only one boost in their subscription available at no extra cost. Telegram aims to introduce this feature to channel administrators in hopes that they will encourage their subscribers to give their boost to their channel. To facilitate quick access to the boost sending menu, a deep link will be provided. Users will be able to change which channel receives their boost only once a day.

Story enhancements
Users will be able to add background audio to stories.
An option to pin a story to a post will be introduced.

Improved login confirmation system
Instead of receiving login notifications via personal messages from the Telegram account, they will now appear above the chat list.

Statistics
Channel statistics will now include data about subscribers with a Telegram Premium subscription.

View photos or videos only once
A new self-destruct option will be added, which prevents media files from being viewed more than once.

Web bot platform update
App strings indicate that in the next update, Telegram will allow users to add shortcuts to launch Web bots from the Android app's side menu.

This feature might be available exclusively to select partner bots. It's highly probable that this shortcut feature was specifically designed for @Wallet, but it might be utilized for other partner bots in the future.

The Web bot platform itself has been renamed to Mini Apps, and using them will require users to accept separate terms of service.

Previously, an ability for Web-bots to store their data on Telegram servers was spotted in the app, with the data being synchronized across the user's devices. @tginfo speculates that this feature could've been developed for the recently announced non-custodial TON wallet. Testing suggests that the data storage feature in Telegram might also be exclusive to select partner bots.

It's important to note that all this information is based on speculations from the Beta version of the app, so the features might undergo some changes by the time of release.

#stories #boosts

Crypto wallet integration in Telegram

In the new version of Telegram, users who have previously used the @wallet bot now have a section with a crypto wallet in the application menu. Telegram promises to provide other users with quick access to the wallet in November of this year.

TON Foundation together with Telegram announced their partnership within the framework of the TOKEN2049 conference - presentation and photos from the conference.

Now @wallet will have direct access to all 800 million users of the messenger (excluding US citizens) by integrating the service into the menu.

In addition, Telegram will provide priority access to its advertising platform to TON projects and partners.

In 5 years, TON plans to reach 30% of all active Telegram users.

Download: Google Play, App Store.

#TON

Pavel Durov Cleared Concerns About New Global Search Behavior

Pavel Durov confirmed the global search changes that were previously noticed by our subscribers:

“Previously, public channels with more subscribers would appear higher in the search results. That system worked fine for a while, but was increasingly getting abused by spammers. That's why we now only count genuine subscribers of channels for ranking.

For example, channels with more Premium subscribers will generally rank higher. However, if a specific Premium subscriber joins too many channels, they won't give those channels as big of a search ranking boost. Of course, the new search also prioritizes results from your country.

The feedback on this change is overwhelmingly positive. Channels with an inflated subscribers count have become less visible, while useful groups and mini-apps are now attracting more users”.

#search

How The Boost System Works in Telegram Channels

The @tginfo editors have studied new images and strings on the Telegram translation platform and assume that the boost system on channels will work as follows:

• Only subscribers with Telegram Premium will be able to boost Telegram channels.
• If a Premium user received a paid subscription as a gift, he will not be able to support his favorite channels with a boost.
• Users with Premium will be able to choose which of the channels they subscribe to to give their boost. This channel can be changed no more than once a day.
• Judging by the screenshots, the boost has an expiration date, but it is not yet known how it will be determined (we assume that the boost expires along with the Premium subscription or it will have more complex logic).
• It is likely that information about users and the expiration date of their boost will be displayed in a special tab inside the channel statistics section.
• There, administrators will be able to view how many users with registered Telegram Premium are subscribed to the channel and what their share is of the number of all subscribers.
• It will be possible to share a special link in the format t.me/tginfoen?boost, which will allow authors to “campaign” for support of their channel, and users to quickly transfer their boost to the channel.
• Judging by the available screenshots, to publish stories on behalf of a channel, the channel needs to reach level 1. For this to happen, the channel needs to receive at least 5 boosts UPD: 1/250, or 0.4% of channel subscribers should boost the channel (the value may change by the release).
• Information about the number of active channel boosts can be available to all users.
• Whether other levels with their own advantages will be introduced, or whether Telegram at an early stage will limit itself to only the first, is still unknown.

#stories #boosts

Telegram Redesign Competition for Android

Telegram has announced the start of a new competition to create a fresh design for its Android OS application.

Competition Objective:

Participants are required to create a comprehensive redesign concept for Telegram for Android. The concept should reflect the core essence of the application, its lightweight nature, and enhance the visual aesthetics with updated elements.

As an additional source of information, Material Design 3 recommendations can be utilized. To be eligible for rewards, the competition entry must encompass all the components and areas listed in the minimum requirements.

During the design development, it is necessary to carefully consider various scenarios and cover all related elements and components, such as pinned messages, service messages, shared media, stories, etc.

For the chat list, an option with a white header (and an alternative semi-transparent view) can be provided.

All participant requirements, information on submission formats, and additional comments are provided in the @designers channel.

Prize fund: $30,000
Deadline: 23:59 on October 5th (Dubai time)
Who can participate: Everyone
Results: October 19th, 2023

#contest

New Attack by Anonymous Sudan

Hackers from Anonymous Sudan announced the start of a new attack on Telegram's infrastructure in the morning. The official website and Telegram Bot API were experiencing disruptions at the time.

The attack was completed about 50 minutes after it began.

#outages

Stories for Channels, Your Music in Stories and Much More

Telegram for Android and iOS have been updated to version 10.1.

⚠️ Other Telegram clients will receive the new version soon. The update will likely be rolled out to users gradually.

Stories from channels
• Now Telegram users can give their favorite channels the opportunity to publish stories.
• Telegram Premium subscription provides one boost, which you can give to any channel.
• The more boosts a channel has, the higher its level, and each new level allows you to publish 1 additional story per day for all subscribers.
• Users can transfer their boost to another channel once a day.
• Channels can collect boosts using special links like t.me/tginfoen?boost.
• If a channel receives the required number of boosts, administrators with the appropriate rights and an active Premium subscription will be able to publish a story on its behalf by clicking on the create story icon in the channel profile.
• You can find a link to boost for your channel and see how many boosts are left until the next level on the Channel page > More > Statistics > Boosts.

Reaction stickers in stories
• Users and channels can add reaction stickers to their stories, which allow them to send a variety of emoji with one tap.
• In stories from channels, such stickers display the number of users who have chosen a particular emotion.
• You can add 1 reaction sticker to a story. Premium users have access to more reaction stickers - up to 5 at a time.
• To add a reaction sticker, just click on the 💭 icon in the sticker panel and select the appropriate emoji. Premium subscribers also have access to any emoji from the author's sets.

Stories with your music
• Stories now support loading audio files from the device's memory - so you can add any music or voice accompaniment to a photo or video.
• To do this, just click on “Sound” in the sticker panel and select a file, and then select the desired fragment.
• In video stories, you can leave the original audio track and choose any moment for a new one to appear - for example, insert a sound effect in the middle or add music at the end.

View media files once
• The Telegram team has updated the interface and added a one-time media viewing feature.
• In any personal chat, just click on the one-time viewing icon in the photo editor to select the period during which the photo or video file will be available - from one-time viewing to 30 seconds.
• If you select the “One view” option, the media file will be deleted from the chat immediately after the end of viewing.
• If View Once mode is enabled, the recipient will not be able to save the file or take a screenshot.

New login notifications
• Now such notifications will appear not in the Telegram service dialog, but above the list of chats - so that you definitely notice them.
• If you were not the one who logged into your account, select “No, not me!” to secure your account (the new session will be terminated immediately).
• You can check the list of all devices that currently have access to your messages in Settings > Devices.

Other innovations
• Sending video recordings has been accelerated (on iOS).
• The loading bar more accurately displays the submission status (on iOS).
• Devices (Android) will now do a better job of displaying animations on hidden text and hidden media.
• The button for adding additional photos in the story editor is placed in a separate “Photo” sticker.

Article: telegram.org/blog/channel-stories/

Android: Google Play, APK from the official website or verified channel.
iOS: App Store.
Desktop: from the official website 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

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