The Telegram video stickers are “easy to make”
Social media and messaging companies are always looking for ways to spice up the messaging experience. Meta just introduced new 3D avatars for Instagram stories and direct messages, for example. Telegram version 8.5 is hitting devices right now and this update brings some neat new features. Firstly, there are the Telegram video stickers. The program allowed users to add their own animated stickers before, but those required animation software and know-how. The new video stickers allow people to convert regular video files into short stickers you can place in the chat. This opens up the door for a lot more people to make their own stickers. There are some limitations, as you can’t just upload any video. You’ll need a program that can export videos as wepb files with an alpha channel. One side of the video needs to be at least 512 pixels, it can’t be longer than three seconds, there needs to be a transparency layer, it needs to be formatted with the VP9 codec, and the file can’t exceed 256KB.
There are new reactions and interactive emojis
Telegram also introduced some new reactions into the software. When you want to give a reaction to someone’s chat, you can simply “like” it. However, Telegram wants to give you more options than that. The company unveiled a handful of new reactions that you can use. There’s a face with hearts floating around, a “mind blown” face, a thinking face, a face that’s cursing, and two hands clapping. Also, there are new interactive emojis. When you post one of the aforementioned reactions as an emoji, you’ll be able to tap on it for an effect. The effect is an animation that takes up the whole screen.
There’s easier navigating and bug fixes
Telegram makes it easier to jump back to one of your recently visited chats. If you’re in a chat, all you have to do is hold the “Back” button. A list of your recent chats will pop up for you to select. Other than that, you have your basic assortment of bug fixes and improvements to the software. The company improved the call quality, let you send silent messages from the sharing menu, and added translation to Instant View pages. If you are excited about these changes, you should make sure that you’re running the latest version of the software.
