The Telegram 8.0.1 Update: All-New Chat Themes, Animated Emojis and More

Instant messaging app Telegram released its version 8 update earlier this month that brought unlimited live streams, the ability to remove subtitles from media, an improved sticker panel, new animated emojis, and more. Now, Telegram is rolling out that update with version 8.0.1 that adds new customization options for individual chats, detailed reading receipts in groups, the ability to record video and audio from live broadcasts, and other improvements. The new update also brings new chat themes that will allow users to customize the appearance of individual chats. Let's take a look at what's new:

The most significant change with the version 8.0.1 update is said to be the chat topics. This feature allows users to choose from eight themes, each featuring colourful gradient message bubbles, an animated background, and unique background patterns. To set a theme, users need to go to Chat Header> Change Colors. Telegram, in its announcement, said that it will add more topics over time. In addition to chat themes, the new update brings animated and interactive emojis. Among the animated emojis, some are now interactive and display a full-screen effect. If the chat is open at both ends, the animations and vibrations will play simultaneously.

In addition to these visual changes, the update also brings more detailed reading receipts in group chats. When users post a message in a group, the message will be marked as "read" as soon as at least one member reads it. Previously, it used to say "read" only after each and every member had read the message. Additionally, users can now long-press the message in smaller groups to see which group members have read it, a feature that has been on WhatsApp for quite some time.

The new Telegram update also brings a feature that will allow administrators to record live broadcasts and video chats. An administrator can choose whether to record both video and audio or just audio. After the administrator finishes recording, the recording file will be saved in your Saved Messages.