After years of receiving requests from users, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced that the messaging app will finally be incorporating Stories into its platform in early July. Despite initial resistance from the company, who believed adding Stories would be repetitive as they exist on numerous other platforms, Durov ultimately decided to comply with the users' wishes.
Along with this latest feature, Telegram users will also be provided with full control over who can view their Stories. They can choose to make their Stories visible to everyone, specific contacts, or a list of close friends. Stories will be located in an expandable section at the top of users' chat lists, and they will have the ability to hide any Stories they don't want to see by moving them to the 'Hidden' list in their Contacts section.
To further personalize their Stories, users can add captions and links, tag other people, and post photos and videos taken with both the front and rear cameras simultaneously, mimicking the BeReal-like style. Moreover, users can set an expiration time for their Stories - six, 12, 24, or 48 hours - or opt to permanently display them on their profile pages, similar to how Instagram permits users to showcase Story highlights.
Durov noted the potential benefits of the Stories feature in his announcement post, stating that it will render Telegram profiles more informative and vibrant. He further explained that users will have the opportunity to explore more content from their contacts and learn more about users they interact with in groups or channel comments. He also suggested the possibility of an increased impact for channels, as reposting messages from channels to Stories will facilitate going viral on the platform.
According to Durov, even those on the Telegram team initially skeptical about the Stories feature began to value it after internal tests. The CEO believes that the introduction of Stories will shape a new era on Telegram and that the platform will become more social as a result. Users can expect to see the Stories feature go live in early July after it completes its final testing phase.
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