Telegram, a platform launched in 2013 to compete with the likes of WhatsApp, marks today as its 7th anniversary and celebrates accruing 400 million users. To mark the occasion, the company announced the launch of a ubiquitous feature-fast and secure video calling.
“Strong principles and quality features speak for themselves, and millions of you listened. We’ve heard you as well, and will continue to develop features that make Telegram much more than just a messaging app. Today we’re adding the one you’ve been asking for – fast and secure video calls,” Telegram said in a blog post.
The feature works exactly like it does on the dozens of other apps that support it, including WhatsApp, Messenger, Hike etc. To launch a video call, users can visit a contact’s profile page and press the video icon. The company allows you to switch video on or off anytime. Moreover, the feature supports picture in picture mode in case you wanna call and scroll at the same time.
While all of this sounds pretty generic and frankly, redundant, Telegram has a minor tweak to its calls that might just entice you to pick it over its competitors. The calls, which will be end to end encrypted, house a random series of 4 emojis on the top. This will be shown on both your and your partner’s screen, and help ensure the security of your video channel.
If the emoji pattern on your screen matches with that of your partner’s your call is 100% secured by time-tested encryption also used in Telegram’s Secret Chats and Voice Calls. Thus, the company is allowing you to take your security into your own hands.
The video call service available today is just the alpha version of the feature, and will see improvements down the road, including the option to launch group video calls.
The company announced that it is working on a secure video call feature back in April, when it reached the 400 million users landmark.
Moreover, the company has also added another batch of animated emojis.
