Popular messaging app Telegram recently announced that it’s been working on a new Stories feature that works pretty much the way you would expect. According to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, the feature would be made available to users in July. Now users can finally share Stories on Telegram – but the feature requires a Premium subscription for now.
Telegram Stories now available, but only for some users
With Telegram Stories, users are able to share photos and videos that disappear after a while. However, Telegram is trying to do more than its competitors. For instance, users can choose whether a Story will expire after 6, 12, 24, or 48 hours. Most apps make Stories disappear after 24 hours.
Telegram also lets users create lists with different contacts for each Story. This means that you can share a specific Story with your best friends and another one just for your coworkers. The interface is similar to what you find in other apps that already offer Stories, with a list of available Stories at the top of the list of chats.
Also similar to the Stories feature in apps like Instagram and Snapchat, you can send reactions and reply to someone else’s Story. However, there’s a catch.
While everyone can see Telegram Stories, only those who pay for Telegram Premium can post Stories. “Posting stories is currently available only to subscribers,” a message in the app says when non-Premium users try to create a new Story. It’s uncertain whether the Stories feature will become free for everyone eventually, but the term “currently” suggests it will.
According to Durov, although the Telegram team was initially against the idea of having Stories in the app, the feature was one of the most requested by its users. “Even the skeptics on our team started to appreciate this feature. We can no longer imagine Telegram without it,” he said last month.
Try it now
In order to get the new Stories feature, make sure you download the latest version of the Telegram app available on the App Store. Telegram is free, although the Premium subscription to unlock more features (including the ability to post Stories) costs $4.99 per month. If you subscribe via the web, you can get a discount.
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