Telegram is reportedly testing a new feature that would help avoid spoilers

With so many online communities available for movie fans to join these days, it is almost impossible to avoid spoilers, especially to those who were not so lucky to get tickets on the day of the premiere. But Telegram appears to be working on a new feature that could help people avoid unwanted spoilers.

Telegram currently offers several ways a user can stylize their message before pressing the send button. But a new feature in the works goes beyond just making texts more expressive.

The anticipated feature was revealed in a post on the Telegram subreddit by Reddit user Tanto_Faz_123 (via Dylan Roussel). The post does not contain any explanation about the function, but the attached two-second video gives enough information on how it would work.

Once implemented, Telegram users could highlight some of or their entire message. The sender can then long-press on the highlighted texts to bring up the text options, which would include a new “Spoiler” function. Upon pressing the send button, the message will be posted as an animated pixelated barrier to cover it. The recipient or recipients can only read its content if they tap on the redacted message.

Since the feature appears to be in testing at the moment, it is still uncertain if Telegram still plans on adding more details to this function. Based on the video shared, there is no visible warning that the hidden message contains spoilers except for a small eye icon placed beside the text’s timestamp.

The discovery of the anti-spoiler feature happens shortly after the premiere of “Spiderman: No Way Home.” But considering how it functions, it could also be used to temporarily hide sensitive content.

Telegram has yet to officially announce the leaked feature, so it is unknown if it will roll out as an experimental function first before being released in a public update. But this should be a welcome change for the users of the messaging app, especially since Telegram is known for allowing users to form large group text chains. Currently, Telegram lets users create groups that can accommodate up to 200,000 members, while there is no limit to the number of people that can join channels.

Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash