Group Calls on Desktop. Voice and video chats on desktop open in a separate window, so you can talk and type at the same time.

When you share your screen, you can choose an individual program to broadcast or your whole screen.

On desktop, when someone starts sharing their screen, that video feed will be pinned automatically.

Animated Backgrounds. All default themes have algorithmically generated chat wallpapers – with swirling colors that move as you send messages.

You can choose from several preset backgrounds built by our designers, or create your own in the theme editor.

To see all the default options, go to Chat Settings > Change Background on Android, or Appearance > Chat Background on iOS.

Screen Sharing in Group Video Calls. In group video calls you can broadcast video from your screen or camera – or both at the same time. On desktop, you can even select a specific program to broadcast.

Video from your screen includes audio, and screensharing is also available in 1-on-1 video calls.

To share your screen, tap ⋮ or … in any app and select it from the menu.

Bot Menu. In chats with bots, quickly send commands using the menu button – it lists several options with short descriptions to get you started.

Bot developers can create customized commands that change based on a user’s interface language, chat type or admin status.

Custom Animated Backgrounds. Choose any 3 or 4 colors to make an algorithmically generated chat background.

Just like custom themes, you can share your animated backgrounds with other users to give their chats a new look.

To choose a preset background or design your own, go to Chat Settings > Change Background on Android, or Appearance > Chat Background on iOS.

Video Messages. Say hi and share quick moments with short high resolution videos – without opening your camera app.

Tap a video message to expand it and turn on sound, and tap it again to fast-forward or rewind the message.

Audio from your device keeps playing as you record, and you can pinch to zoom in when recording with the rear camera. To start recording, simply tap the microphone icon in the message bar to switch to video.

Screen Sharing in Video Calls. During video calls, you can share your camera feed or video from your screen – with sound.

In group video calls, you can share both your camera and screen at the same time.

To share your screen, simply tap the video button and select your screen as the video source.

Video Playback Speeds. You can watch videos in the media player at 0.5x, 1x, 1.5x or 2x speeds.

Multiple playback speeds are also available for audio – including voice messages and podcasts.

Precision Drawing. When decorating photos or videos in the media editor, your brush will automatically decrease in size as you zoom in – making it easy to draw fine details.

To manually change the size of your brush, simply drag the dot up from the color selector.

Message Sending Animations. Text, stickers, emoji and voice messages fly into the chat when you hit send – jumping from your keyboard with energy-efficient animations.

Live Streams in Channels. Start a Live Stream in your channel to broadcast video and audio or share your screen with unlimited viewers from any device – mobile or desktop.

On Android, open the Channel Profile > ⋮ > Start Live Stream.
On iOS, open the Channel Profile > Live Stream.
On Desktop, tap the 💬 icon in the top bar of the Channel.
On macOS, tap … in the top bar of the Channel > Live Stream.

Flexible Forwarding. Tap Forward Message above the message bar to open a preview window and customize how the messages will appear.

Hide sender names, hide captions from media messages, deselect messages or change the recipient if you tapped the wrong chat.

In your Privacy and Security settings, you can control whether your own messages include a link to your profile when forwarded with your name visible.

Jump to Next Unread Channel.
There are millions of channels on Telegram that post news, videos, memes and more. When you reach the bottom of a channel, you can swipe up to immediately switch to your next unread channel – without going back to your chat list.

If you use Folders or Archived Chats to organize your chat list, the app will first show you channels from the Current Folder, then your Other Folders, then from All Chats, and lastly your Archive.

Trending Stickers. Above your Recently Used stickers, you’ll find the latest packs from professional artists.

Scroll the bar to take a look at the thumbnails, then tap to preview and add packs to your panel.

To change the order of your sticker packs, press and hold one of the icons the top bar and drag it into place.

Sticker Suggestions. Type a single emoji in the message bar to instantly see dozens of relevant stickers for any situation.

You can quickly find the emoji you’re looking for with emoji suggestions and shortcuts – no scrolling required.

Chat Themes. In 1-on-1 chats, you can apply a specific theme just for that chat – giving it a distinct look and feel.

Every theme has its own day and night version, with gradient message bubbles, animated backgrounds and unique patterns.

Chat themes sync across your devices, and also are applied for your chat partner.

To choose a chat theme on Android, tap ⋮ > Change Colors.
On iOS, tap the Chat Header > More > Change Colors.

Interactive Emoji. Send and tap a single
🎆🎉🎈👍👎❤️😂😭🤩
😁😢🔥😱🤮💩❄️👻🎃💸
in any private chat to unleash a fullscreen effect.

When both users have the chat open, the animations and vibrations play simultaneously on their devices. You can tell that your friend also sees the animation from their watching status.

Group Read Receipts. In groups, your message is marked as read as soon as one member opens it. You can then select your message to see which group members have read it.

To protect users’ privacy, read receipts in groups are only stored for 7 days after the message was sent.

Record Live Video. Admins can record Live Streams and Video Chats to save and share after the broadcast.

Video can be recorded in portrait or landscape orientations, and after the recording is stopped or the broadcast ends, the file is instantly uploaded to the admin’s Saved Messages.

You can start recording from any device – simply tap ⋮ or ⋯ to open the broadcast menu.

Public Groups and Channels.
All groups and channels are private by default, but you can make them public and open for any user to join or subscribe.

Public groups and channels have unique t.me links, appear in Global Search results, can reach an unlimited audience and host massive communities for any interest.

You must be the chat owner to change the group or channel type. On Android tap the Chat Header > ✏️ > Group/Channel Type. On iOS tap the Chat Header > Edit > Group/Channel Type.

Bots. Perform tasks and access services built on Telegram’s open Bot Platform. Use the Bot Menu or enter text to send your command, and the Bot will instantly process your request.

Any developer can build these chat-based applications that run directly inside Telegram for anything from online stores to arcade games.

Bots have unique t.me links and can be found in search – like the official Sticker Bot, Gmail Bot, and more.