Telegram replaces ‘broadcast’ function with ‘channels’

Telegram is replacing the ‘Broadcast’ feature with ‘Channels’. Via the tool it is possible to share a message with a larger audience, whereby Channels can have an unlimited number of users, unlike the old Broadcasts. The feature is coming to the Android and iOS apps.

In addition to sharing a channel with an unlimited number of users, it is also possible to generate a permanent URL that makes the posts public. With broadcasts, ‘only’ 100 personal contacts could be added to a message at a time, whereby users do not know who sees the same broadcast.

In addition to the change in the number of users, each message in a channel has its own counter that allows you to track the number of times it has been viewed. The latter includes views of forwarded copies of the messages. It is also possible for new members of a channel to view the entire message history, the message service writes on its blog.

For the iOS 9 app, the developer also has a number of other changes in store, including the ability to respond to a message via the notifications from the lock screen of iOS 9 devices. The photo editor in the iOS app also received an update.

The channels addition for clients other than the iOS and Android apps, such as for web, Mac, Windows, and Linux, is coming later this month, as is the ability to let bots use channels to transmit via the bot API. The option is already available in the developer versions of the app.