Telegram now supports chat list thumbnails, 2GB file sharing, and multiple accounts on desktop

Privacy has been among the core virtues of Telegram, but the instant messenger is also updated routinely to add features that improve its usability. Over the last few months, Telegram has received several features including a Video and GIF editors, Chat folders, and much more. Another major update to the Telegram messenger is now rolling out and it brings new support for videos in place of a profile picture, mini thumbnails for media in chat, group stats, sharing for files as big as 2GB, and support for multiple accounts on the desktop apps.

Starting with profile video, you can now set videos alongside static images for your display picture. You can also choose a single frame from that video to show on your account as a profile picture in other people’s chats. In addition to uploading videos, you can enhance them using the inbuilt video editor or add animated stickers to them. Just like display pictures, you can also have multiple profile videos and choose to set the main one as you like.

Back in February, Telegram updated the People Nearby feature to help you meet people in real life. With the latest update, Telegram adds new animated stickers that can be used to strike a conversation instead of starting with an awkward “Hi.” The feature will also tell you about the estimated distance from the other contact. To make yourself visible, head over to Settings>Contacts >Find People Nearby and then tap on “Make myself visible.”

Conversely, for people who may want to cut down on conversations, Telegram now has a new option to automatically archive chats that are from non-contacts. The feature can be enabled from Settings>Privacy & Security.

Next, the messenger gets mini thumbnails for images received via chats. Although you can already long-press a chat to preview new messages without opening the chat, the mini thumbnail feature saves you the trouble of even long-pressing.

For group admins, Telegram is adding a group stats feature that will show the activities, growth rate of the group with the help of colorful charts. It also shows the top members of the group sorted by the number of messages and the average message length. For this feature to be active, a group must have at least 500 members.

Among other minor additions to Telegram are the new video cropping and rotation tools, a new music player UI, a skin softener for images or videos taken with the front camera, additional animated emojis, and lastly support for multiple accounts on the Telegram apps for Windows or macOS.