Group Video Calls with 1000 Viewers on Telegram

When Telegram launched group video calls earlier this year, the capacity was capped at 30 users. While the limit to broadcast video is still capped at 30 users, a total of 1000 people can join the video call as a viewer. That essentially means you can have 30 participants and 970 spectators in a video call. It sounds like a good feature to organize a Netflix watch party or your favorite streaming app.

Another useful change is playback speed controls for Telegram videos. Going forward, you can watch videos at 0.5x, 1.5x, and 2x speeds. Those on Android can also watch videos at 0.2x speed. You can tap on the three dots menu and select ‘Playback speed’ to adjust the video’s speed.

Moreover, Telegram has brought screen sharing to 1-on-1 calls. The best part? It includes sound from your device. To share your screen, press the camera button and choose ‘Phone screen’ as the video source. The GIF attached below should give you a good idea of how the feature works.

For privacy, this Telegram update introduces a new option to auto-delete messages in a month, in addition to the existing 1 day and 1 week options. You can tap on the vertical three dots menu and choose ‘Clear History’ to set the duration. Other changes in the update include a higher resolution for video messages, improved timestamp links, and an improved media editor. Telegram has also added new passcode animations, new prompts for password recovery and reminders, and new message sending animations on Android. You can check the entire update changelog from Telegram’s blog post here.