What you need to know
- Telegram Stories arrives a little late in July and only Premium users can post them.
- Regular users have the ability to view Stories, reply, and react, as well.
- It's unclear whether or not Telegram will open Stories' availability, making the $4.99 subscription the only option for those looking to post Stories.
Telegram is finally rolling out one of its most "highly requested" features but it's not for everyone.
As spotted by Engadget, the messaging platform has started rolling out Stories to users, as mentioned in a tweet. Unfortunately, as Telegram informs, only Premium users are able to post Stories currently. It's not locked entirely to Premium users as it looks like regular users can still see Stories, react, and reply to them, as well.
For those unaware, Telegram Premium costs $4.99 and offers some extra goodies such as double limits (1,000 followable channels), larger file uploads, faster downloads, and more.
Telegram started teasing its new Stories feature back in June and stated that the feature would roll out in "early July." The platform is a couple of weeks late, however, the feature directly mirrors that of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp in functionality. Users can not only share videos through Stories but photos, captions, and emojis are tossed in, as well.
You think I'd forget that? There's a + button at the top of your chat list for posting Stories. Currently, only Premium users are able to post Stories.July 21, 2023
Additionally, users can tag others, which brings the new feature more in line with Instagram's variant.
Premium Telegram users looking to hop in and try it out can find Stories nestled at the top of their app above the "Chats" tab. Users will be able to set an expiration timer for their Stories, ranging between six and 48 hours, and they'll also be able to select who can view them.
It's unclear at the moment whether or not Telegram will open this feature up to everyone on the platform.
Premium subscribers earlier in the year got an exclusive feature as part of a larger update in February. Those subscribed gained the ability to translate entire chats, group chats, and channels in real-time as messages roll in. Whenever a user enters a non-native language chat, an option at the top will appear so they can translate it. Otherwise, users can find additional languages to translate chats to in the three-dot menu on the top right side of any given chat.
