The new Telegram update also brings improvements to voice chats and audio player, and introduces new stickers and animations.
Chats that have been imported to Telegram show the original time stamp, along with the text, 'imported'
Telegram has released a new update for its app on iOS and Android that includes a migration tool to let users import chats from WhatsApp and other messaging apps. The Telegram update for Android devices has the version 7.4. The mention of the new tool is part of the Telegram 7.4 update for iOS as well, but another update (Telegram 7.4.1) released soon after for Apple devices does not include the mention of the new migration tool. However, in our testing, users were able to transfer their chat history from WhatsApp on both Android and iOS after installing the latest respective versions. This could be good news for people who want to move away from WhatsApp after its contentious privacy policy changes. The new update also brings improvements to voice chats and audio player, along with new animations and stickers.
Telegram announced the new features, including the chat migration tool, for Android and iOS via a blogpost that includes details on how to use them. The release notes of Telegram version 7.4 for both iOS and Android also carries the mention of the tool: ‘Move your chat history from other apps (WhatsApp, Line and KakaoTalk) to Telegram'.
But soon after releasing the 7.4 version for iOS, Telegram almost immediately released version 7.4.1, removing the mention of the migration tool. However, after updating to the Telegram version 7.4.1 on iOS, we were still able to use the tool to migrate chats from WhatsApp to Telegram. The process is fairly easy.
Chats that have been imported to Telegram show the original time stamp, along with the text, “imported”
On WhatsApp for iOS, you will need to swipe right to left on the individual or group chat that you would like to migrate and then tap on More, then choose the Export Chat option. A pop up will ask if you want to move the chat with or without attachments, which can be imported to Telegram through the iOS Share Sheet. For Android, simply tap on the three dots on an individual or group chat, tap More and then Export Chat to arrive at the same screen that will let you share the file with Telegram.
When you select Telegram, it will ask you to select the contact or group you want to migrate the specific chat to, and the messages will be synced for you in the chat history of the contact. Messages imported from other apps come with a flag at the bottom that says ‘Imported'. This works for both individual chats, and groups. Chats that have been imported show the original time stamp, along with the text, “imported” and the time when they were copied over.
The new Telegram update for both Android and iOS devices also includes improvements to voice chat. Users will now be able to adjust the volume of individual participants during a voice chat. Adjustments made by group admins, however, are applied for all listeners.
Changes in the audio player functionality includes the option to tap on the name of an author to see all their tracks from your chats. Users can now also hold down the next and previous track buttons to fast-forward and rewind a track.
The Telegram update also introduces Greeting Stickers on iOS and Android to welcome new users and new animations on Android. Users can also now report fake channels or groups that impersonate famous people or organisations by tapping the profile page > Report > Fake Account.
Does WhatsApp's new privacy policy spell the end for your privacy? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
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