Telegram update adds chat themes, limited-time read receipts, and animated emojis

The latest update on Telegram appears to be focused on giving users more options to customize their chats. People can now apply new themes to private chats, as well as use animated emojis and enable read receipts for group conversations.

As people spend more time communicating through messaging apps due to the “new normal,” Telegram has made it possible for its users to make their conversation nice to look at as well. With the update announced on Sunday, the company launched eight new themes that can be applied to individual chats.

Aside from making chats look pretty, these themes should also be an added measure to let Telegram users, whether they are typing for a private conversation or a group, professional chat. Just tap the Chat Header and choose Change Colors to use the new themes. It is also nice that Telegram has made day and night versions for all new themes. That means users can opt for a dark mode version of any theme chosen.

Emojis are going to be more expressive in the messaging app following the latest Telegram update in the form of Interactive Emoji. For now, the feature appears to be available on select emojis only.

As demonstrated in the blog post, the firework emoji would produce animated fireworks on the screen, while the party hat emoji will burst with confetti. “If both you and your chat partner have the chat open, the animations and vibrations play simultaneously on your devices, so you feel close even when you're far apart,” Telegram said. Note that the Interactive Emojis will only work properly if the receiver also has the latest version of the app.

On the more functional side, the latest update has also added the Read Receipts feature in Telegram group chats. Once a message sent to a group gets the double checkmark, meaning someone or some members have read it, the sender can tap on that message to see who has seen it.

Telegram notes, though, that the Read Receipts are launching for small groups for now. Although it was not clear how many members have to be in a group chat to be considered as such. And for privacy, Telegram opted to make the Read Receipts information disappear automatically after seven days.

Photo by Adem AY on Unsplash