Telegram rolls out Stories, new features to all users globally: Check details here

Telegram announced its Stories feature last month. However, at the time, the feature was available only to Telegram Premium subscribers. Now, almost a month later, the company has announced that it is rolling out Stories to all its users across the globally.

Telegram, in a blog post wrote that Stories are displayed in an expandable section at the top of the screen, which will enable users to see the full length of their chat list and folders. The company also said that when viewing a story, users can quickly tap to share, reply privately, or react and that by default, users will see stories from all their contacts on their home page where they will also be able to hide stories from specific contacts by sending them to their archived chats.

In addition to opening up Stories to all users, the company has announced a bunch of new features for Stories, making it one of its biggest updates so far. Interestingly, the announcement comes as the messaging platform turns 10.

“Today’s gradual roll-out of stories for all users marks the beginning of this new stage in the history of Telegram. While this past decade was exciting, the next 10 years will be the time when Telegram reaches its true potential,” Telegram founder Pavel Durov wrote in a post on his official Telegram channel.

So, what’s new on Telegram? A lot!

Here’s the detailed list:

What’s new on Telegram?

Dual Camera Mode

Telegram Stories can now use a smartphone’s front and rear cameras simultaneously to capture or record a scene from different angles.

Add locations and stickers

Users can add text, drawings, stickers or tag their location in their stories. Stories also supports captions with a longer text description.

More privacy controls

With this update, users will get access to more granular privacy controls. Telegram says that when posting a story, users can now select from four privacy settings: Everyone, My Contacts, Close Friends and Selected Contacts. Each option can be completely customised and users can also select a list of users who will never see their story ever.

Stories in Profiles

Unlike Stories on other platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, Stories on Telegram can last for up to 48 hours. Users can select from six hours, 12 hours, 24 hours or 48 hours options. Users can also post them to their profiles, arranged in a grid — where both old contacts and new connections can see their highlight reel for as long as they want.

Editing Stories

Telegram says that for the first time in the history of social media, users can update any element of their story at any time. This means that users can change its visibility, caption, on-screen text, or stickers without having to delete and repost it from scratch.

Stealth Mode

Telegram has also rolled out a Stealth Mode for Stories. This feature lets users erase their views from any stories that they opened in the past five minutes and hide what they view for next 25 minutes. However, this feature is available only for Premium members.

How to enable: Open any story, tap Menu iOS or Menu Android and select ‘Stealth Mode’.