Telegram announced on Monday that its long-awaited Stories feature is now available to all users, expanding access beyond the Premium subscribers who received it first last month. This newly launched feature comes with enhancements that set it apart from similar offerings on other social media platforms. In addition to privacy upgrades, Telegram has also rolled out a new camera capability that can be utilized when posting Stories. Users will find that Telegram offers more detailed statistics compared to its competitors, while Premium subscribers will benefit from an exclusive Stealth mode on the platform.
In a blog post, Telegram shared the details regarding the wide release of Stories, highlighting that this feature had been highly requested by users. The development process took several months as the company worked to refine the tool inspired by features across social media giants such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Signal, and WhatsApp.
Stories can be viewed in an expandable section located at the top of the screen. Users can interact with a story by tapping to share, respond privately, or react. A quick tap sends a heart emoji reaction, while a long press opens up options for a variety of different emojis.
A standout enhancement in the Stories feature is the introduction of a dual-mode camera. This functionality allows users to capture a single story using both the rear and front cameras, creating a picture-in-picture effect reminiscent of video calling interfaces. When users take a photo or video using the rear camera, it occupies the majority of the screen, while the footage from the front camera appears in a smaller circle at the top left corner.
