Telegram launched its first update this year

Following the public figure verification program, Telegram is introducing a new way to verify accounts with the help of third parties: official accounts of recognized organizations can now confirm the authenticity of channels. Accounts verified by a third party will have a blue thumbnail logo next to their name instead of a blue check mark.

“We hope this new decentralized approach to third-party verification will help prevent fraud and the spread of misinformation and set a high bar for all public platforms,” ​​Telegram said in a blog post.

Telegram said third parties can use its Bot API to assign or revoke verification. And for a third-party service to provide such a service, you must initially have Telegram verification and also undergo additional verification.

As for other innovations, now all gifts on Telegram can be converted into an NFT, a unique collectible digital masterpiece with a custom background and icons. These collectible gifts can be transferred to other users or auctioned on NFT platforms. However, Telegram charges users a fee to convert their gifts into collectibles to cover the costs of transactions on the blockchain.

The company also added a feature to respond with emoji to service messages, such as when someone joins a group, as well as new search filters: you can refine your search options separately for personal chats, group chats, and channels. Additionally, you can now use custom emoji in users’ folder names (available with a Premium subscription).