Messaging app Telegram gets auto-delete timer and Widgets

Telegram Update
Telegram Update (Image credit: Telegram)

What you need to know

  • Telegram has issued a new update for its app this week.
  • It brings an auto-delete timer for messages, Widgets, and more.

Telegram has updated its iOS app to bring an auto-delete timer for messages, Widgets, and more.

In a blog post this week the company stated:

This update brings an auto-delete timer for messages in any chat, as well as new flexible invite links and faster access to your chats with home screen widgets. Also, groups can now have unlimited members.Some conversations aren't meant to last forever, which is why Telegram users can delete messages for all participants in a conversation at any time, without a trace. Since 2013, users can also set a self-destruct timer for messages in Secret Chats.Starting today, you can enable an auto-delete timer in all Telegram chats, which will automatically erase messages for all participants either 24 hours or 7 days after sending.

The new update also brings a new Chat Widget, which can show you a preview of recent messages on your home screen, a Shortcut Widget will let you see names and profile pictures of contacts for easy access to contacting them. Slightly more limited on iOS, the iPhone widget will only get fresh data updates "occasionally", and can't be expanded like the Android version, which also updates more regularly.

Telegram also has the option to create additional invite links with limited time duration, numbers of uses, or both, as well as a new invite by QR feature:

Any invite link can be converted into a scannable QR Code to put on everything from brochures to billboards. You can also see which users joined using each invite link to find out where new members came from or which format has been most effective for growth.

Telegram says that groups pushing the 200,000 member limit will now be able to convert into a Broadcast group of unlimited size, with voice chats and posting limited to admins.

Telegram has also updated its chat import feature and reporting.

You can read the full release here.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9