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Telegram offers a host of features for its users, some that even WhatsApp doesn’t have and now they are getting more options.
Telegram has unveiled its first update of 2025 this week, introducing a host of new features. Users can now transform received gifts into collectables with unique qualities to share with others. The update also brings several enhancements, including the ability to use emojis in folder names, reactions to service messages, an in-app QR code scanner and additional search filters for messages, among other improvements.
According to the company, a “lack of attention from Apple’s review team” prevented the 17th major update of 2024 from being released by the deadline. Telegram has announced that users can now turn received gifts into collectables, which can be sold at auction on NFT marketplaces or transferred to others. By converting a gift into a collectible, users gain access to unique designs created by Telegram artists, giving the item a fresh look. To make each collectable distinct and some rarer than others, Telegram adds secondary features like background colour, icon, and number.
After the upgrade, emoji replies are now supported in service messages, such as when someone sends a gift or joins a group. With new additional filters for focusing searches in private and group conversations and channels, Telegram also makes it simpler to locate messages from specific chats.
To increase transparency, official third-party providers have the option to add additional verification icons to user accounts and chats. If a user is verified by a third party, a little logo is displayed next to the name. The company does stress, though, that third-party verification marks are entirely distinct from the verified checkmarks that Telegram offers to prominent personalities and institutions.
QR code scanning is now a default feature of Telegram’s in-app camera on iOS and Android. This enables users to open links in their favourite browser without having to navigate between apps. Furthermore, Premium users may now add additional expressive elements to their folders by using the unique emojis that folders now support.