Summary
- Telegram’s first update of 2025 includes new features like collectible gifts, an in-app QR code scanner, and reactions for service messages.
- Collectible gifts are unique digital items that can be upgraded to receive a random new appearance, with secondary traits like background color, icon, and number.
- Search filters make it easy to find specific chats, and the built-in QR code scanner opens links without leaving the app.
Telegram has rolled full-steam into a new year with its first update of 2025, absolutely packed to the brim with new features. For starters, you can send gifts to your friends that they can then keep or re-gift. Telegram also gets new reactions, filters for message search, and an in-app QR code scanner. The app attracted much of its user base thanks to its powerful security features and ease of use, but this update brings it much closer to feature parity with other messaging apps.
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Telegram laid out the details of its recent update in a blog post. The first addition is collectible gifts, items that are “unique works of art” that can be upgraded to receive a random new appearance, with secondary traits like background color, icon, and number. If that sounds like an NFT, that’s because it is.
More than 20 pre-existing gifts can be upgraded to collectible item status, including the Homemade Cake, Jelly Bunny, Spiced Wine, and Santa Hat. Items boast more than 1,400 unique appearances with more to come in the future. And if you choose to buy a friend a gift, you can choose to send an already-upgraded version for a few more Telegram Stars.
Another noteworthy addition — and one that’s less controversial — is in the form of reactions for service messages. If someone joins the chat, starts a call, or sends you a gift, you can react to it just like you would a normal message. Search filters also make it easy to find a specific chat in your overall listen. You can choose to see only private chats, group chats, or specific channels. Telegram has also added a built-in QR code scanner that opens the link without forcing you to swap apps.
What are Telegram Stars?
Telegram Stars are the premium currency of Telegram, used for selling both physical and digital goods. Telegram Stars can be purchased at a rate of 100 Stars for $2, 500 Stars for $10, 1,000 Stars for $20, and so on. If you really want to make sure you never need another Telegram Star, or at least not for a while, you can snag 35,000 Stars for $709. These Stars are useful if you want to buy items in games like Cat Shelter, but you can also use them as gifts to content creators in a system that’s similar to Twitch Bits. Stars can also be earned through affiliate programs.
