Telegram is soon getting its own version of Stories: Check details inside

“Initially, we were against this since Stories are already everywhere. However, Telegram wouldn’t be Telegram if we didn’t listen to our users and didn’t innovate on existing formats,” he said.

The CEO also revealed details about the upcoming Stories feature on Telegram. He said that Telegram users will be able to define who can see their stories with ‘granular precision’. They will be able to choose from different options – Everyone, only your contacts (with exceptions), a few selected contacts, or a list of Close Friends.

Additionally, Telegram Stories will be placed in an expandable section at the top of the chat list, to make them easily accessible without taking away valuable space. Telegram users will also be able to hide Stories posted by any contact by moving them to the ‘Hidden’ list in the Contacts section instead of the main screen.

Telegram users will be able to use photo and video-editing tools to refine their Stories. They will also be able to provide captions for stories to add more context or links and tag other people.

The messaging platform will also add the option to post photos and videos taken by the front and the rear cameras simultaneously.

Telegram Stories will have different life span. Users can choose when a story expires – in 6, 12, 24, or 48 hours.  Or they can also permanently display stories on their profile page, with individual privacy settings for each.

“The ability to save your stories to the profile page will make Telegram profiles more informative and colorful. You will not only be able to explore more content from your closest contacts, but finally discover more information about users you connect with in groups or channel comments,” Durov said in a statement.

He stated that Stories are in their last testing phase and will become available in early July. 

Updated: 27 Jun 2023, 02:10 PM IST