Two new updates are coming to Telegram, the first you will like but the second looks like something you may not like.
The first update is a new app update that adds a feature called voice chat room, and the second is an upcoming change to the platform where Telegram will begin showing ads in public one-to-many group chats as a way to generate revenue and sustain their free messaging service.
Right from inceptions, telegram messaging has been free and now the subscribers are closing up to 500 million. The developers of the app predicted that the chat app will soon get to 1 billion subscribers and it will be so difficult to keep it for free, hence the introduction of ads.
This is why Telegram has announced that they will build and begin to use their own Ad platform, to be featured in their Telegram channels and groups. They promise to do it in a non-intrusive way that will continue to respect user privacy and be user-friendly.
Some premium features are also coming for business people and power users, no much details about it yet.
In the new update, Telegram group can have a voice chat room in addition to the text and media messages. This feature works similarly to the voice channels feature in Discord, which is a popular desktop focused messaging service.
Once a voice chat has been initiated, it will show on the top of the chat and anyone in the group can join. Telegram has added a few animations to show who is talking at the moment and Android users can stay joined in the voice chat via a system-wide floating widget, even if they close the app.
I will use Plus Messenger by rafalense instead if I see any advert as an alternative to the official telegram app