Telegram update: you will now be able to make a group video call, share your screen, and use animated chat backgrounds

Ever since WhatsApp had this little policy mishap and people started looking for alternative chat platforms, secure chat apps Signal and Telegram have been on the rise of popularity. Recently, both platforms have been working hard to give their newfound users the best features, while maintaining great security and privacy. Now, XDA-Developers reports about a new update that brings to Telegram a couple of valuable new features.

Telegram now gets group video calls, screen sharing, and animated backgrounds

The first feature, group calls, was announced earlier and it works pretty straightforwardly. It allows you to transform a group call into a group video call. There’s a limit though – group video calls currently support up to 30 participants, while normal group calls don’t have a participant limit. Telegram will be stretching this limit, but there is currently no information about when this will happen.


In order to share your screen during a group call, you should tap on the three-dot menu button and then, select screen sharing. Additionally, the Telegram app for tablets will also be getting the aforementioned new features.

And last but not least, we have animated chat backgrounds that are also becoming a thing at Telegram. The feature has been spotted earlier in a beta version and will now be making its way to the general public. It, again, works in a pretty straightforward manner: it creates an animated, multi-color chat background.

In order to change your background, you can go to Chat Setting (Android) or Appearance (iOS), where you can also create your own animated backgrounds. On top of that, you will also be able to share your custom animated backgrounds with friends.

These updates are coming with Telegram v7.8, which also brings new sending animations, app icons, login info reminders, a new bot menu, and support for importing third-party sticker packs. Additionally, you will be getting new animated emoji.