Starting next month, Telegram users will be able to hop into group video calls together. According to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, the tool will include the typical features you'd find in a video conferencing service, such as noise cancellation and screen sharing, along with mobile, desktop and tablet support. The company will add its own flavor to group video calls too. Calls will have the speed and encryption users expect from the platform, Durov wrote.
Telegram Messenger logo on the App Store is seen displayed on a phone screen in this illustration photo taken in Poland on January 14, 2021. Signal and Telegram messenger apps gained popularity due to the new WhatsApp's privacy policy. (Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Telegram already supports one-on-one video calls as well as group voice chats. Still, it's an addition that will give Telegram a bit more parity with the likes of Zoom, WhatsApp, Messenger Rooms and so on.
The service is adding group video calls later than many of its rivals in the messaging space. Telegram pledged almost exactly a year ago, as the pandemic took hold, to introduce them sometime in 2020. Even though group video calls have arrived later than planned, the feature could come as a welcome update for many Telegram users.