Telegram finally adds secure group video calls this year

The long wait for group video calling to come to Telegram is over. With the latest version of Telegram’s iOS, Android and desktop apps, users can turn their group voice chats into video conference calls. You have the option to pin someone’s video feed to your screen so that they stay front and centre even as new participants join the call. Unsurprisingly, you can share your screen if you need to put on a presentation or want to show something off. Here, you have the option to share both your camera feed and screen at the same time.

With today’s release, group video calls are limited to the first 30 people who join a voice chat, but that’s a number Telegram says will increase “soon” as it expands voice chats to support live events and other new features. You can take part in group video calls on your phone, as well as on tablets and computers. On those latter devices, Telegram will take advantage of the additional screen real estate they offer to give you a better view of everything that’s occurring. Specifically, on tablets, you can open a side panel to see a split-screen view with both a grid of video participants and a list of everyone in the call.

According to Telegram, it hit the 400 million user milestone a year after reaching 300 million users. Reaching the milestone means it’s doubled its user base since 2018 when it had 200 million monthly active users. The company said it’s seeing at least 1.5 million new users sign up for the service every day, and that it is the most downloaded social media app in over 20 countries. However, its user base still pales in comparison to WhatsApp, which boasted 2 billion users as of February this year.

Alongside its monthly active user's announcement, Telegram also detailed a collection of new features it’s launching today. Users can now add educational snippets to quizzes created on the service, there’s a new directory to browse the 20,000 stickers available on Telegram, and the company is also adding new features to its macOS client. You can find full details of the new features on Telegram’s blog.