Telegram, the messaging app that’s becoming more and more like a fully-fledged social media network, is expanding support for video live streams with its latest update. Version 8.0 of the app, which is available now on both iOS and Android, allows live streams to be watched by an unlimited number of viewers, up from the previous limit of 1,000. Other new features include more options when forwarding messages, and a shortcut to switch between channels.
Increasing the maximum number of viewers like this opens the door to Telegram becoming a full-on mobile live streaming platform, complete with the ability for as many as 30 users to broadcast at once. “The power to run your own TV station is here, right in your pocket,” is how Telegram puts it. The service also supports Clubhouse-style voice channels with support for “millions” of live listeners. It’s rapid progress considering Telegram’s group calling feature only launched in June this year.
Also included with version 8.0 of the app is an option to remove captions and hide sender names when forwarding messages and media. Scrolling to the bottom of a text channel now includes a new option to quickly swipe up to jump to the next unread channel. Other interface tweaks include a new “choosing a sticker” status in chats, and an unread messages counter in comment threads.
As of January this year, Telegram boasted 500 million active users, compared to around 2 billion for Facebook’s rival WhatsApp.
