Perhaps what’s got us most excited is being able to edit sent messages which is has so far been lacking in chat apps with the exception of Skype and BlackBerry Messenger which have had the option to edit those annoying typos for a couple of years now. Smartphone keyboards are notorious for imposing nonsensical autocorrected words as you quickly type during a conversation. (iPhone, anyone?) WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger only let you delete sent messages but know that they are only deleted on your side and they remain visible on the other end.
Telegram now also lets you mention people (using the @ symbol) in group chats, even those without a username which wasn’t the case before. Your favorite in-line bots can now easily be accessed from the attachment menu. Other new features include pulling up your friend list in search, and other interface improvements.
WhatsApp fans will perhaps gloat that they have something Telegram shows no signs of adding to their arsenal: WhatsApp calls and now rumors of WhatsApp Video Calls as well. Telegram came out to state that their focus is only chat for the foreseeable future but we are not complaining. Yet. Telegram has a bunch of neat features and clusters of loyal fans from across the world keeping it top on the WhatsApp alternatives list.