The IM app Telegram continues in its long slog to become the most used app in its market. It’s got a heckuva long way to go still, but don’t mistake challenge for impossibility, especially considering how it upgrades its services with each new update. We’re up to version 4.0 now – “the mother of all Telegram updates” according to Telegram itself. And with good reason: it’s gotten several new features like payment via bots, video messages, and much more.
Payments over Telegram are now a reality
For some time now people have been daydreaming about the possibility of sending payments over WhatsApp, but as usual Telegram has beaten them to the punch. All users of version 4.0 and up can make use of this new feature for sending payments to bots that will accept them. Try it out with @shopbot to see how it works.
To run services like this, just tap the Pay button on bots that have it and then you can add your bank details to carry out the transaction. Plus note that Telegram takes no commission on these transfers as it works as a silent intermediary. Nor does it save any sensitive data. We’ll have to give this new feature some time and hope that operators like PayPal want to jump onboard, which would give it a significant boost.
Video messages, Instant Views, and more
If voice messages were already one of Telegram’s most used features, groups with lots of users should become a whole new world with video messages. A simple and fun way to communicate that works fast thanks to Telegram’s quick compression process. Plus you don’t have to stay on the same screen while viewing the messages and can look at other chats while the video keeps playing in a popup in the corner.
Instant View is a feature that got massively expanded in version 4.0, with tons of new sites added to the list of webpages you can visit from Telegram without having to open a browser. This is super useful given how little data it consumes and will pressure sites still not onboard to adapt. On top of all these changes, people who run public channels also get their morsel in the form of Telescope, a new video hosting platform that allows for fluid communication with videos and lets people without Telegram view your messages.
More info | Telegram Blog (I, II, and III)
Telegram for Android on Uptodown [APK] | Download
