Telegram’s latest update includes an overhauled media editor equipped with some new tools to decorate or hide parts of your image or videos. In an update on his blogTelegram says it’s introducing a new blur tool that lets you block out certain parts of a photo or video, hiding sensitive information or blurring passersby’s faces that appear in the background.
To blend the blurred portion of your photo, Telegram says you can use the eyedropper to match the color of the blur brush to your image. Additionally, Telegram adds a way to change the size, font, and background of text (a bit like Instagram or Snapchat) when it’s added to photos or videos.
It says the revamped drawing tools “dynamically change width” depending on how fast you draw and smooth out lines automatically. Telegram has also added a way to quickly add shapes such as rectangles, circles, arrows, stars, and chat bubbles by tapping the plus icon in the editor. And if you don’t want your recipient to immediately see what you’re sending, you can now apply a spoiler effect that adds a “shimmering layer” to an image or video that hides its content until your recipient taps it.
Outside of the image editing tools, Telegram’s latest update includes new save options that let you automatically delete cached data in private chats, groups, and channels after a certain amount of time, while excluding the chats of your choice. While Telegram used to let you clear your cache for all chats, this should make it easier to automatically free up space without affecting important conversations. It also introduces a handy new pie chart, showing how much storage space different types of files such as videos, documents, music, and photos take up.
There are also some other new settings that let you choose profile pictures for contacts that only you see – perfect if you have a particular unflattering photo you like to be reminded of every time someone messages you. You can even suggest profile pictures for specific contacts, which they can then swap if they’re happy with what you’ve chosen. And if you already limit your profile picture visibility to only your contacts, Telegram now gives you the option to set a public profile picture for everyone to see. On the other hand, you can now set your profile picture visibility to “nobody” if you don’t want anyone in the app to see your picture, not even your contacts.
