WhatsApp rival, Telegram's new features just added big value-from group video calls to screen sharing, know them all

WhatsApp rival Telegram has rolled out Google Meet-like features, including group video calls and screen sharing, that will boost your chats' fun quotient manifold.

Telegram (Bloomberg)

Telegram has been in the news for quite some time especially after WhatsApp privacy policy controversy raised its head. Many people were looking for WhatsApp rivals to migrate to and Telegram emerged as a strong contender. The rush to Telegram was massive. This also forced Telegram to raise its service to a higher level. Now, Telegram has a surprise for all its users across the globe. The WhatsApp rival has announced a major update to its platform. The update adds a host of new features to Telegram's interface. The list includes support for group video calling and screen sharing, animated background and new security features among others.

Let's talk about these features one by one:

Telegram Group Video call

This new Telegram feature enables users to convert their voice chats into group video calls simply by tapping the ‘Share my video' option in any active session. Telegram says that the group video chat option is currently available for the first 30 people who join the voice chat and that it will increase this limit soon as voice chats take on streaming games, live events and more.

Telegram Screen Sharing

This Telegram feature enables users to share their screens just like they would in case of a Google Meet call. The company says that users just need to tap on the menu button, and press the screen sharing option followed by app permission.

Telegram tablet and desktop support

Apart from the above-mentioned features, Telegram has also added support for tablets and desktops. “Users simply need to tap to open the side panel and see a split-screen view of the video grid and list of participants, optimized for both portrait and landscape orientation. Voice chats on desktop open in a separate window, users can type and talk without minimizing anything,” Telegram wrote in a blog post.

“Desktop apps also have selective screen-sharing to broadcast an individual program instead of the entire screen of a particular user. While using the desktop app, and sharing screen by a specific user automatically gets pinned,” the company added.

Telegram animated backgrounds

Telegram has also introduced animated backgrounds on its platform. The messaging app said that the multi-color gradient wallpapers in the app are designed algorithmically and move with the aesthetics every time users send a message.

How to: In Android: Chat Settings > Change Chat Background. In iOS: Appearance > Chat Background.

Telegram Security features

Telegram has also introduced a bunch of new security features on its platform. The company has introduced a feature called Login Info Reminders that keeps a user's phone number up to date on Telegram. “This overall ensures a user can always log in to his account. In case the phone number has changed, users can quickly update it right from the new reminder in Settings on iOS,” the company added in a blog post.

Telegram also announced that the Android users will get the Login Info reminders in the next update. Users on all platforms will receive a notification from Telegram each time their Two-Step Verification settings are changed.

Telegram animated emojis

Lastly, the company today announced that users can now send stickers and emojis seamlessly from keyboards into the chat window. On iOS, this also applies to media users send from the attachment panel.