After confirming last month, Telegram is now rolling out the Stories feature to its platform, with a catch.
Though everyone can view Stories, the ability to post them is reserved only for Premium users. Further, they can set viewing restrictions to some, all or specific contact while also making the published Stories disappear within hours or a day. This feature is available in the side menu instead of cooking in the top bar as other instant messengers.
Telegram Stories Feature
Telegram is touted as one of the finest instant messengers in the wild today, primarily due to its wealth of features that no other messenger has. Though prioritising security and chat features, it missed one key element other IMs have – Stories.
A simple post that often disappears after a day is a practical addition to the platform that lets users convey more or short-term communications. And Telegram is the latest one to pick up this feature this week. The company confirmed this late last month and now seeds into its apps.
Uhh @telegram got Storys now!@de_telegram pic.twitter.com/HVszJkyC0u
— Julian (@Bayrischmaster) July 20, 2023
As noted by a Twitter user, Telegram added a Stories feature this week, but with a catch. Though everyone can see and interact with the Story posts, the ability to post them is reserved only for Premium users. I updated my Telegram Android app to 9.7.0 and found the feature is added in the side menu.
Last month, Telegram founder Pavel Durov detailed how the new Stories feature would work on Telegram, with highlights as follows;
- Privacy: Stories can be set to be viewed by, Everyone, Only your contacts (with exceptions), a Few selected contacts or a List of Close Friends.
- Captions: You can add captions to Stories to convey them better, add links and tag other people.
- Dual camera support: You can post photos and videos taken by your phone’s front and rear cameras simultaneously.
- Ephemerality: You can set how quickly your story will disappear – to 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, or display them permanently!
- Reposting: You can repost the content from channels such as Stories, making it easier to go viral on the platform.
And one of the best things Telegram is doing is not to rub Stories on your face – like to see them primarily highlighted when you open the app.