A new update for Telegram messenger is now available and it comes equipped with voice calling feature. This is coming almost a year after it’s rival, WhatsApp messenger integrated the voice calls into its platform and still offering much more. Now, it’s here and that’s what matters.
Unlike other messaging apps that has the voice calling feature like Viber, Messenger, Google Duo, and Signal etc, Telegram doesn’t just offer voice calls — it features encrypted voice calls. This explains why it probably took quite a while to arrive in Telegram because the team behind the app was intent on making it as secure as possible.
Telegram have been testing out their new Voice Call function and interface for several months now and they finally have the quality, speed, and security of them where they are happy. As such they are rolling out the Voice Call function to users.
How to activate Telegram calls
The Voice Calling function is been rolled out to Western Europe since the past 24 hours with the rest of the world soon to follow. However, adventurous individuals can go ahead and get the new functionality on their devices.
The first thing we need to enjoy Telegram calls is to have the beta of the applicationinstalled on our mobile phone. In this way, we fulfill the first requirement to get the new function in the application.
If we look back, we can remember how to activate WhatsApp calls in the application. We needed someone who already had the new feature called our number, calls go over a peer-to-peer connection, “using the best audio codecs to save traffic while providing crystal-clear quality”, according to Telegram. If a peer-to-peer connection can’t be established, the closest server to the user is connected to instead.
Now the same thing happens with Telegram since to activate the voice calls you will need, besides having the last beta installed, that someone with the new feature available will call you to your service account. This way you will also enjoy Telegram calls.
How do I make voice calls in Telegram?
To be able to make calls, visit app store or Google Play Store, depending on the phone you are using and be sure to always update to the latest version of Telegram.
As soon as voice calls are enabled in your country, a phone icon will appear on every profile page or drop-down menu, and you can tap this icon to call the corresponding contact. Once you make a voice call, you’ll be prompted to add a dedicated tab for calls on the main screen of the app.
The Quality of voice calls in Telegram?
Telegram said in a blog post that the voice calls are based on the same end-to-end encryption methods as its Secret chats feature, but says it has introduced a new “key exchange mechanism” to make sure calls are even more secure.
The key verification UI we came up with in 2013 to protect against man-in-the-middle attacks served well for Telegram (and for other apps that adopted it), but for Calls we neededsomething easier. That‘s why we’ve improved the key exchange mechanism.
To make sure your call is 100% secure, you and your recipient just need to compare four emoji over the phone. No lengthy codes or complicated pictures!
Can I disable voice calling in Telegram?
Unlike most other messaging and VoIP apps, Telegram allows you to disable voice calls from some users and even switch off voice calls altogether.
Just go to the privacy settings for voice calls in the app to restrict who can call you. You can allow voice calls from everybody, only your contacts, or nobody (i.e., everybody is blocked from calling you). You can also set Telegram to never or always allow voice calls from specific users.
And there is a bonus
The new v3.18 update also brings the ability to not just preview videos before they are shared but the ability to select the quality of the video. This compression rate that you select is remembered as the default level and will use it for all future video uploadsuntil you change it yourself.
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