Telegram Rolls Out One-on-One Video Calls For Android and iOS Users

Telegram will also be launching group video calls in the coming months.

By Tanishka Sodhi | Updated: 17 August 2020 12:10 IST

Telegram Rolls Out One-on-One Video Calls For Android and iOS Users

Photo Credit: Telegram

Telegram said that this year had highlighted the need for face-to-face communication

Highlights

Telegram has introduced one-on-one video calls for its users
Users can check end-to-to-end encryption easily
The messaging app also rolled out new animated emojis

Telegram now allows users to conduct one-on-one video calls on both Android and iOS platforms. The company announced the feature on its seventh anniversary on August 14, saying that this year had highlighted the need for face-to-face communication. Available in its alpha version, the video calls are protected with end-to-end encryption that users can confirm by checking if emojis shown on their partner's screen and their own are matching. Telegram also confirmed that it would be launching group video calls in the coming months.

Telegram said in a blog post that the video calls would support picture-in-picture mode, that means users can scroll through chats on Telegram and multitask while on call. They can also switch off the video and switch to normal call whenever they wish.

App users can start a video call by clicking on the call button on the contact's profile page. To confirm end-to-end encryption, users can check if the four emojis visible on-screen for them and their chat partner's match. If yes, the call is fully secured, according to Telegram.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Telegram also unveiled a batch of animated versions of commonly used emojis for all users to mark its seven-year anniversary. A larger animated version of the emoji will appear when used in a chat.

In its blog post, Telegram said that although it had begun as a small app focused on secure messaging in 2013, it had now grown into a platform that has over 400 million users, and is now one of the top 10 most-downloaded apps. Introducing the video call feature puts Telegram a step closer to its competitors like WhatsApp and Viber, and the upcoming group video call feature will enhance the same.

The company said that their Android and iOS apps have reproducible builds. Anyone could verify encryption and confirm that Telegram uses the same open source code that is published with each update. Besides group video calls that are expected to be rolled out soon, Telegram also said that there would be more features and improvements in future versions of the app.

Telegram to Pay Fine, Return Investor Money to Settle US SEC Charges

Telegram had earlier indicated in April that it would be introducing secure video call features for the app soon, and had started rolling out the feature in beta mode a few days ago, as per reports.

Why are smartphone prices rising in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.