Telegram Desktop Has Been Updated to Version 5.8.3

What's new:
• Ctrl+Click on “Reply” in top right corner of message in group sends reply to another chat.
• On the channel profile screen, the “Add to folder” option is now available in three-dots button menu.
• Fix freeze on forward messages box opening.
• Improve phrases in bot subscriptions.
• Several bugfixes.

Download:
• Windows/macOS/Linux: the official website or GitHub.
• Windows: Microsoft Store.
• Linux: Flathub, Snapcraft.

#update #desktop

Fragment Introduces Mandatory Identity Verification for Buying and Selling Telegram Services

The Fragment platform has introduced a KYC (identity verification) procedure. This means that the platform may require personal information and supporting documents to perform certain actions.

Important:
• Mandatory verification: Now, to purchase “stars” and other services, including Premium or an anonymous number, you must pass KYC (Know Your Customer).
• Verification process: Fragment uses a third-party service, Sumsub, which has an automatic system for verifying users' identities.
• Required information: Buyers must provide an email, phone number, a scanned copy of an identity document, and a photograph of their face.

You can check the verification of your Telegram account and TON wallet on the Fragment profile page .

Purchasing Telegram Premium and stars via @PremiumBot and app stores works without changes.

"Durov's Code" reminds that anonymous numbers and usernames can be purchased for cryptocurrency without KYC on decentralized marketplaces, such as Getgems.io .

Even if the NFT is purchased on a third-party platform, its activation in Telegram occurs through Fragment. The editorial team of @tginfo does not know whether unverified users will be able to use their NFTs in Telegram in the future. Owning an NFT does not guarantee that the purchase can be used in Telegram, as we wrote about in 2022.

The @tginfo editorial team does not know the reasons for introducing the KYC procedure. Telegram representatives did not comment on these changes.

#Fragment

Telegram Boosts Profits Through Cryptocurrency Assets

The Financial Times reviewed Telegram's unaudited financial report, dated October 22, 2024, and addressed to investors.

Telegram reported a significant increase in the value of its digital assets during the first half of 2024, rising to $1.3 billion from nearly $400 million at the end of the previous year. This growth was largely driven by the sale of the cryptocurrency Toncoin.

The company's revenue for January to June 2024 reached $525 million, nearly tripling compared to the same period last year. Of this, $225 million came from a deal with an unnamed party, under which Telegram received compensation for making Toncoin the exclusive method for businesses to purchase advertising within the app. However, this agreement was terminated on October 1.

In the first half of the year, revenue from digital asset sales totaled $353 million, with $348 million coming from Toncoin sales alone.

Advertising revenue also saw growth, hitting $120 million in the first six months of 2024—more than double compared to the previous year. Additionally, premium subscription sales surged to $119 million, up from $32 million.

Over its history, Telegram has raised approximately $2.4 billion in debt financing, which is due for repayment in 2026.

According to the documents, in September 2024, Telegram used a portion of its overall revenue to repurchase some of its bonds, amounting to $124.5 million.

While Telegram’s bonds are still trading below face value, their prices have rebounded from the initial sell-off triggered by Pavel Durov’s detention. As of now, they are trading at 95 cents on the dollar, compared to 87 cents in August.

Telegram is Preparing an Affiliate Program for Mini Apps, Bots and Channels

Lines were found in the Telegram source code for Android that reveal plans to implement an affiliate program for mini apps, bots and channels.

Key details:

• Channel owners will be able to participate in the affiliate program and receive a commission for users attracted to mini-apps.

• Users and channel owners will be able to share referral links and earn on the spending of attracted users.

• Payments will be made in stars.

• Mini apps owners will be able to customize the commission percentage and the duration of the program for their partners.

• Tools for tracking statistics on referral links and earnings will appear.

It is important to note that all information is based on lines from the application code, so these functions may undergo some changes before the release.

We tell more about Beta versions of Telegram on our second channel @betainfoen.

Survey for the most popular Telegram client

At the end of the year we have a survey to find out which client is the most popular among our readers.

This time, the voting system has been redesigned, and the survey now includes four polls to vote for:
• Most popular Android client
• Most popular iOS client
• Most popular desktop client
• Most popular web client

We need your help in spreading the survey to get more accurate and representative data.

Results of previous years:
2019 • 2020 • 2022

#survey

Telegram for Android and iOS Updated to Version 11.5

Here’s what’s new in this update:

• Story Collages: Users can now combine up to 6 images or videos in a single story and choose various layout options. Selected elements can be moved, replaced, or deleted.

• AI-Powered Sticker Search: The sticker panel now supports advanced search queries with multiple keywords, but only among official sticker sets from the Telegram team. Third-party stickers are not supported.

• Captions Above Media Files: A new button, "Move Caption Up," has been added to the media editor. It lets you quickly change the position of text relative to the attached image or video.

• Affiliate Programs: All users and channels on Telegram can now earn Stars through affiliate programs from Mini App developers. When someone you refer uses your link to access a mini-app and makes purchases using Telegram Stars, you earn a percentage of the Stars spent.

• Launching Affiliate Programs: Mini App or bot developers can now create their own affiliate programs and set the percentage of their future revenue they’re willing to share as rewards, as well as the duration for which these rewards will be given to those who refer users.

Read the full article: telegram.org/blog/affiliate-programs-ai-sticker-search

How to Update
• Android: Download from Google Play, APK from the official website, or the verified channel.
• iOS: Download from the App Store.

#update #Android #iOS

Telegram Desktop Has Been Updated to Version 5.9.0

What's new:
• Affiliate programs for bots.
• Add option to show folder tags in chats list.

Download:
• Windows/macOS/Linux: the official website or GitHub.

#update #desktop

Telegram to Collaborate With IWF to Struggle Against Child Pornography

The BBC reports that Telegram has agreed to collaborate with the international organization Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to prevent the distribution of child pornography and content related to violence against children.

IWF calls Telegram's decision "transformational", but noted that much work still needs to be done within the framework of the cooperation.

IWF is one of the few organizations in the world that has the right and ability to monitor the appearance of child pornography, materials containing scenes of violence against children, and to achieve its removal from the network.

Telegram emphasized that even before the start of cooperation with IWF, the messenger found and removed hundreds of thousands of materials containing inappropriate content every month using its own moderation tools. Official membership in IWF will help to combat such content even more effectively.

Account Theft Using Fake Gift Message

The most popular method of stealing a Telegram account is still social engineering. Attackers convince the victim to provide their login details either by threatening ("Your account will be blocked within 24 hours if you do not log in to this site") or by promising some kind of benefit.

In recent days, users have increasingly reported receiving a fake message from attackers about a Telegram Premium subscription gift. The message contains a link that supposedly needs to be followed to receive the gift. When clicking on the link, the user is asked to enter their account details (phone number, one-time authorization code, and cloud password), which immediately fall into the hands of attackers.

Please be vigilant!
• Do not enter any account details in any bots or on any sites unless you are 200% sure that you are interacting with the official Telegram resource.
• Check the links you follow in Telegram: in mobile apps, just press and hold the link, and in Telegram Desktop, hover the mouse cursor over the link.
• Follow all other recommendations from the section “6. How to protect your account from theft?” of our article about account theft.

#hacking

Voice chats are unstable

According to information from users, on December 7, voice chats in Telegram have been unstable since the beginning of the day. Problems are observed both when connecting to existing chats and when creating new ones.

We do not know when the problem will be fixed. The post will be updated as new information appears.

UPD 12/08/2024
The issue appears to be resolved, and there have been no further reports about it.

#outages

Moderation Statistics on Telegram's Official Website

Telegram's official website now features a new section dedicated to moderation data: https://telegram.org/moderation.

The page includes several sections detailing various types of content prohibited on the platform. For each type, the following information is provided:
• The number of blocked groups and channels, broken down by day.
• Instructions on how to report this type of content.
• Explanations of the moderation process for this content.

#moderation

Prepaid Stars on Fragment for Giveaways

The Fragment platform now provides the option to prepay stars for hosting giveaways in Telegram channels and groups

• Purchases on Fragment are made using TON, free from app store commissions. However, KYC verification is required.

• You can purchase a large quantity of stars at once on Fragment, making it ideal for large-scale giveaways.

• After purchasing stars on Fragment, you only need to launch the giveaway from the channel or chat settings page. Detailed instructions will appear after paying for stars on the Fragment platform.

#Fragment #stars

The app does not show the user when searching by phone number

Sometimes Telegram users face that they cannot find another user by their phone number: the app reports that such a user does not exist.

In the new article, we explain why this can happen and what can be done in such a situation: https://tginfo.me/user-not-found-by-phone-number-en

#FAQ

Ads between channel posts

Now Telegram native ads can be displayed not only at the very bottom of the channel, but also between its posts.

Advertisers were not given the opportunity to switch the way the ads would be displayed: the platform makes this decision itself.

Some users could previously see advertisements in the Telegram Desktop application not at the end of the channel, but in its middle. Previously, this happened due to a bug in the application, but now it has become a feature.

#aboutAds

Upcoming Update: Millions of User Stickers in Search

Pavel Durov shared plans for Telegram's upcoming update in his official channel.

Next month, the sticker tab will include a search feature for millions of popular user-created sticker sets.

As a reminder, Telegram recently launched an AI search for 40,000+ official sets. This update will serve as a logical step forward in enhancing the sticker search functionality.

Durov further noted that stickers have been one of the many innovations that define Telegram, and that AI search will make it easier to find them.

#stickers

Gift Exchange For Stars Is Limited To 90 Days

The ability to send gifts by paying for them with stars became available to users on October 6. The recipient of such a gift can not only publish it in their profile, but also exchange it for stars with a 15% commission.

Just a few days after this feature appeared, users noticed that when trying to exchange a gift for stars, the application warns that such an exchange is only available for 90 days after the gift is received.

For the very first gifts, this period expires in early January 2025, approximately 01/05/2025. We have no information on whether Telegram applications will remind users in advance that some gifts will soon become impossible to exchange for stars.

If you intend to make such an exchange, make sure that you do not miss the moment when it becomes impossible.

To find out when the gift exchange period for stars expires, you need to open the screen of this gift and click the "Sell for xx stars" button.

#stars