Instant messaging app Telegram has announced a new update to its app through which it will add new features to its voice chat feature making it take on the recently popular app. Clubhouse.
To recall, Clubhouse is an invite-only app that is available only to iPhone users right now but is already being developed for Android users as well.
Telegram is essentially a rival to WhatsApp and recently witnessed a surge in its popularity ever since WhatsApp announced its new privacy policy. Through the latest update, Telegram has added Voice Chat support to Channels and even introduced new features to enhance the Voice Chat experience. Here’s a look at these features :
Add unlimited voice chats
Voice Chats are now available on channels a tool for broadcasting with no limit on number of people who can listen to voice chats. “No matter how popular your talk gets, new people will be able to tune in. It’s like public radio reinvented for the 21st century,” said Telegram in its blog post.
Record chats
Admins of channels and public groups will be able to record audio from voice chats. This will allow them to save talks and later even publish them for those who missed it.
In order to notify the speaker in case his/her chat is being recorded, there will be a red light next to their title.
Speak in between a live chat
In a live chat, where all the participants are muted, except the speaker, they will be able to alert the admins that they want to speak by tapping on the ‘raise the hand’ icon.
Create invite links
Admins of public groups and channels will be able to create invite links that open the voice chat. Separate links can be made for speakers and listeners.
Choose who you join as
When entering a voice chat in a channel, users will have the option to join with their personal account or appear as one of their channels.