Russia fined Telegram for $150,000

A fine is imposed according to three protocols on the non-removal of prohibited content. The decision was made by the magistrate of the judicial district No. 422. Telegram Messenger Inc. was sentenced to four, five and two million rubles.

Telegram founder listed in leaked Pegasus project data

Amid the varied cast of people whose numbers appear on a list of individuals selected by NSO Group’s client governments, one name stands out as particularly ironic. Pavel Durov, the enigmatic Russian-born tech billionaire who has built his reputation on creating an unhackable messaging app, finds his own number on the list.

Durov, 36, is the founder of Telegram, which claims to have more than half a billion users. Telegram offers end-to-end encrypted messaging and users can also set up “channels” to disseminate information quickly to followers. It has found popularity among those keen to evade the snooping eyes of governments, whether they be criminals, terrorists or protesters battling authoritarian regimes.

In recent years, Durov has publicly rubbished the security standards of competitors, particularly WhatsApp, which he has claimed is “dangerous” to use. By contrast, he has positioned Telegram as a plucky upstart determined to safeguard the privacy of its users at all costs.

Telegram New Update; password recovery, refreshed animations and more

Android:

Telegram apps received a version 7.8.1 update for Android and 7.8.3 for iOS. • New password recovery process

• With new notifications in Settings, you can now regularly make sure you remember your two-factor authentication password.
• If you have access to your own Telegram account, you can now change your two-factor password even if you don't have recovery e-mail specified.
• Password reset goes into effect after 7 days. You can cancel this process from any your device.

• Outgoing messages animation

• Improved animations for messages: now the text you typed in smoothly transitions into a message bubble when you hit Send button.

• Other

• Sound in screen demonstrations.
• Animations for local PIN screen.
• Animated "Start messaging" button for first launch screen.
• Pinch to Zoom when you record Video Messages.
• Fast selection for multiple messages in chats.

Desktop:

🔄 New version: 2.8.10

📆 Released: 16/07/2021

💻🖥 OS: Windows 7 and higher (32 and 64 bit)

📄 Changelog: Fix media loading.

Note: the app has 3 different update streams:

• Telegram Site

• Microsoft Store 

• Apple Mac App Store, as “Telegram Lite” 

This update is available right now for users that installed the app from Telegram site. It will be available soon on the Stores too.

Telegram MacOs Beta - Setting up sticker suggestions

Setting up sticker suggestions

In Telegram for MacOS 7.8 Beta, a new setting to choose sticker hints for emojis has been added.

You can choose which stickers sets to suggest:
— None
— Installed packs
— All sticker packs (installed + Telegram featured ones)

Telegram is being blocked in Cuba

Protests against the Cuban government began over the weekend. They were triggered by the economic crisis, power and food supply disruptions, and a health system that protesters believe cannot cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The first demonstrations began in the city southwest of Havana, San Antonio de los Banos, then they spread to other localities, including the capital.

The entire country went offline for more than 30 minutes on Sunday, according to researchers who study internet censorship. Since then, virtual private networks, which are tools used to reroute internet traffic that can circumvent some internet censorship, and popular communication apps in Cuba have been blocked.

Source

New contest for Android Designers!

Prize fund: at least $30,000 – from which the 1st place winner will receive $10,000 if any submissions qualify for the 1st prize.

Task: Develop a comprehensive concept of voice and video calls for Telegram X on Android that includes one-on-one calls, as well as group calls in voice chats.

Details: https://contest.com/docs/android-design-21

Deadline: 23:59 on August, 1 (Dubai Time)

Who can take part: Anyone.

How to submit: @ContestBot will start accepting archives with submissions closer to the deadline.

How To Setup Telegram Channel Donation | Donation Bot

Bot Link: https://telegram.dog/donate

A tool appeared in Telegram to help users in encouraging channel admins. The verified @donate bot uses Payments 2.0. To receive donations, the channel admin has to add the bot as a channel admin with rights to delete posts. After that, you have to send a special command, which triggers the bot to create a donation button for you.

A channel you're trying to link has to have move than 1,000 subscribers, has to be public, has to be created more than 3 months ago, and has to belong to "Entertainment" or "Education" categories. The channel owner has to pass verification by scanning own face in the service.

Fees for accepting and withdrawing the funds are higher than 5% right now, but expected to be lowered in future. Despite the fact the bot looks like a native monetization solution from the Telegram team, this is actually a third-party service delivered by smart-glocal.com.

You can try donations by yourself using the button above.