In an announcement today, Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, unveiled the forthcoming addition of the Stories feature to the popular messaging app. The new feature, which is set to debut in early July, follows years of persistent user demand, as more than half of all feature requests received by Telegram pertained to the integration of Stories.
The Rise of Stories on Telegram: Responding to User Demand
Initially, Telegram was reluctant to integrate this feature, citing its ubiquitous presence across various platforms. However, responding to user demand, the company has decided to move forward with it. The implementation of Stories on Telegram will give users the ability to control their Stories’ visibility, ranging from making it available for everyone, to only specific contacts or a group of close friends. The stories will appear in an expandable section on top of the users’ chat list.
In a user-friendly feature, Telegram will provide the option to hide Stories posted by certain contacts. This can be done by moving the specific contact’s Stories to the “Hidden” list within the Contacts section. Additionally, users can add captions, links and tag other users in their Stories. A unique feature to be introduced allows users to simultaneously post photos and videos captured by both front and rear cameras.
Furthermore, users can decide the expiration duration for their Stories, with options to have them disappear in six, 12, 24, or 48 hours. There’s also an option to keep the Stories permanently displayed on the user’s profile page, resembling Instagram’s Story highlights feature.
Telegram hopes this feature will enrich user-profiles and foster a more intimate connection between contacts. According to Durov, it will also benefit channels by allowing more exposure and subscribers, with the soon-to-be-introduced ability to repost messages from channels to stories.
After internal testing of the Stories feature, even the initially skeptical Telegram team members expressed their appreciation for it. Stories are currently in the final testing stage and Durov anticipates that they will “herald a new era on Telegram”, enhancing the social media aspects of the platform.
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