Telegram, never content with resting on its laurels, has pushed out Telegram 4.8 bringing with it automatic night mode, video streaming, and initial support for Telegram Login, the first phase of the Telegram ID project. Further phases will be rolled out throughout the year.
With video streaming, you can begin watching videos right away without having to fully download them first. The feature is compatible with content newly uploaded via Telegram 4.8 and higher. While watching the content, you’ll see a light grey strip in the progress bar, which shows how much content has been cached.
The newly added auto-night mode is not switched on by default but can easily be enabled by going to Settings > Theme > Auto-Night mode. The feature can be switched on automatically under low-light conditions, the threshold for which can be altered to whatever you want. Or you can set it up to switch to night mode on a schedule. If you allow Telegram to have your location, it will automatically determine what time to switch on night mode. By using the ‘Preferred Night Theme’ setting, you can pick which theme will get switched to during the night.
The last feature added is Telegram Login. External websites are now able to add a Telegram Login Widget in order to give users a way to authorise themselves. When using Telegram Login for the first time, you’re asked for your phone number which sends a confirmation message to your Telegram client in order to authorise your browser. Once set up, you’ll have two-click login on every site that supports the widget.
In the announcement, Telegram said:
“Clicking ‘Accept’ will send your Telegram name, username, and your profile picture to the website owner. Your phone number remains hidden. The website can also request permission to send you messages from their bot.”
By signing into a website with Telegram Login, you also give that site the ability to automatically start the conversation via any bots that they have. Bots can be used to provide customer support, to accept payment, or send notifications of any kind including account statements, shipment tracking, flight updates, and much more.
The update is already available for Android, and iOS users can expect the update too. These features should arrive in Telegram X in a future update.