As some of you might have guessed, apart from jogging bathing and rowing we did some work this week. Lots of @telegram users asked for the possibility to have larger limits for groups and the ability appoint admins in groups. So we were working on it most of this week.

Not me, obviously – I was mainly bathing and rowing (someone has to do the really hard stuff).

Also, the ability for users to add a small bio to their profiles in Telegram seems to be a decent idea. It should be 100% optional, editable in the Settings. Their design could look exactly like the description of channels. It could contain links and mentions of other Telegram users/bots/channels.

With usernames, large groups and channels Telegram gradually becomes a more open environment. Every time you stumble upon new users in that environment you might want to learn more about them. That's where bios could help.

I wonder who lit up all the candles in the cemetery 🎃

Finally some good news for our Iranian users.

A couple of weeks ago Telegram stopped working in Iran, so I assumed we had been blocked there. However, service has since returned to normal, and the Iranian Ministry of Information and Communication declared they were not going to block Telegram.

The interruption of service, they say, was due to the disruption of cables connecting Iran with the rest of the world (Suez Canal, Mandeb Strait + Iran-Turkey cables), and the poor connectivity affected most western services in Iran – not just Telegram. 

Moreover, the government denied that they required any kind of spying tools from Telegram, saying that the demand I received was fake and not authorized by any higher authorities.

I’d like to believe that this is true – it would mean that the Iranian people will continue to be able to use what I maintain is the best messaging service on the market. And since our system administrators confirm that the Iranian government’s report of cable disruption is probable, my earlier claim about Telegram getting blocked may have been inaccurate (or at least premature). 

In that case, sorry for the false alarm, everyone. It’s easy to misinterpret the situation in markets that have a history of internet censorship – you might have heard that Facebook and Twitter have been blocked in Iran for a few years. However, this doesn’t mean that Telegram can't be blocked there in the future.

Iranian authorities made it clear that they would block Telegram if it contained publicly available porn, i.e. porn bots and porn channels. If this is the only matter that poses a concern, there will hardly be any problem, since we already block most porn bots and channels anyway due to App Store restrictions. 

Anyway, the bottom line: we’re good in Iran. For now. And let’s hope for the best 🌟

Here are 50+ great Telegram sticker sets for you. Made by winners of the sticker competition I held earlier this year. ENJOY! 👍

https://telegram.me/addstickers/JeanBaptistePlagouille
https://telegram.me/addstickers/JessAndJack
https://telegram.me/addstickers/BornVillain
https://telegram.me/addstickers/HuskCool
https://telegram.me/addstickers/ThisCat
https://telegram.me/addstickers/BowWow
https://telegram.me/addstickers/AstroKitty
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Dog_Collection
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Orange_Sparrow
https://telegram.me/addstickers/FunnyJerboa
https://telegram.me/addstickers/ArchieDog
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Bunny_Boo
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Albrecht
https://telegram.me/addstickers/LoriBoy
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Zac_the_Pug
https://telegram.me/addstickers/BlueRobots
https://telegram.me/addstickers/UnicornStella
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Goosy
https://telegram.me/addstickers/JoeIsSadTurtle
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Violet_Crabbit
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Lisushka
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Kotey
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Manool
https://telegram.me/addstickers/CrazyDogz
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Spitz
https://telegram.me/addstickers/KokoBoy
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Haley
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Bulljoy
https://telegram.me/addstickers/MouseArnold
https://telegram.me/addstickers/MarseyCat
https://telegram.me/addstickers/RickyPanda
https://telegram.me/addstickers/MisterFrogo
https://telegram.me/addstickers/AudreyGlamour
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Little_Ant
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Tvorozhok
https://telegram.me/addstickers/GusTheDuck
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Racoon_Jessie
https://telegram.me/addstickers/FunnyImps
https://telegram.me/addstickers/USPresidents
https://telegram.me/addstickers/SuperPepe
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Little_Bear
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Vicky
https://telegram.me/addstickers/harry
https://telegram.me/addstickers/theBunny
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Animals
https://telegram.me/addstickers/AlligatorHarold
https://telegram.me/addstickers/ArtistBoy
http://telegram.me/addstickers/Hot_grandpa
https://telegram.me/addstickers/MartyTheBear
https://telegram.me/addstickers/FattyYeti
https://telegram.me/addstickers/Fima_Rooster
https://telegram.me/addstickers/RussianMinds
https://telegram.me/addstickers/FunnyFox

Some media reported on a “massive” hacker attack on Telegram in Iran. Here's what really happened:

https://tx.me/s/fxnotez/15million-reuters

This October we are working on new features for @telegram from a castle in Umbria, Italy.

Trusting a US-based company for secure communication was naive before today. But starting today, it is pure madness.

http://boingboing.net/2016/11/09/a-madman-has-been-given-the-ke.html