Telegram is rolling out ‘view-once’ voice and video messages

Telegram is rolling out a bunch of upgrades as part of its January feature drop including “view-once” video and audio messages, the ability to pause recording while sending a video or an audio message, and new read-time controls.

The app introduced “view-once” photos and videos in one-on-one chat in September 2023. Now, the company is extending this feature to voice and video messages. Users can hit the mic icon to start recording and then pull up to tap on the “view-once” icon to allow the recipient to hear the voice message or look at the video message just once.

Additionally, Telegram is rolling out the ability to pause and resume recording for voice and video messages through the same menu.

Telegram is also adding a way for people to see when the recipient reads your message in one-on-one private chats. You can turn this feature off in the settings.

The company is also introducing some new features for paid users. Now, premium users can hide their read time but still can look at someone else’s read time if they share it publicly.

Plus, paid users can pick who can send them messages first. They can select either “Everyone” or “My Contacts and Premium User.”

Last month, Telegram launched new features for better channel discovery and customization. Later in the month, it introduced improved calls with end-to-end encryption protection that hog less of your phone’s battery. The company also updated its bot platform to let bots react to messages, manage reactions, quotes and links, and send replies to other chats or topics.