Telegram has rolled out its much-anticipated Stories feature to Premium users. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov had previously revealed plans to add Stories in July, fulfilling a long-standing request from users.
The Stories feature allows users to share time-limited videos and photos with their contacts. Users can choose who can see their stories, with options to make them viewable by everyone, specific contacts, a select few, or a list of close friends. Stories will be displayed in an expandable section at the top of the chat list, and users can hide Stories from particular contacts.
One of the key features of Telegram's Stories is the ability to decide when the story expires. Users can choose from various time options, such as 6, 12, 24, or 48 hours, or even have the option to permanently display Stories on their profile page, similar to Instagram's Story highlights.
Telegram had been initially reluctant to add Stories, as the format is already widespread on other social media platforms. However, after listening to user feedback, the company decided to go ahead with the feature.