Telegram has released what will probably be the penultimate update of 2022, and as usual there are a lot of irons in the fire. The main novelty of this version 9.2.0 reported by the developers is the possibility of create an account without the need for a SIM card, thanks to the integration of Fragment.
Fragment is a service deeply related to Telegram: it was launched by Pavel Durov, founder of the instant messenger, just a few days ago, and operates in the blockchain field. Fragment was born as a response/consequence of the collapse of FTX one of the largest centralized crypto exchanges in the world: the idea behind it is that cryptocurrencies should return to their decentralized origins.
Durov, who also created the Russian social network VK, said that “it only took 5 weeks and 5 people, myself included” to put together Fragment, which is basically a platform that facilitates the transaction of digital assets between users by exploiting the auction mechanisms. These digital assets also include completely anonymous phone numbers hosted on the blockchain itself. It’s possible take part in the auctions of numbers already created or buy a random one for the equivalent of around €15.
Payments are made in Toncoin, which is the official cryptocurrency of the blockchain on which Fragment is developed; this blockchain is called TON, or The Open Network, and was created directly by the Telegram team. TON is open-source and, indeed, decentralized.
Let’s recap briefly all other news of the update; for those who want, following the SOURCE link it is possible to read the complete official announcement post – even if those who use the app will in all probability have already received the message directly there.
- Automatic deletion of messages from all chats, setting an automatic timer – you can specify for example a month or a week, or an arbitrary number of days. This will apply to all new chats and groups by default, but you can specify to apply it to pre-existing chats and groups as well.
- Redesigned topics: they are available for groups with at least 100 members, the interface has been revisited, there is a new topic called General which is activated by default designed to contain all the official announcements and much more.
- More aggressive anti-spam. The anti-ad bots developed by Telegram now have a new mode available for groups with over 200 subscribers.
- Temporary QR Codes even for those who don’t have a public username and hide their phone number from everyone. The code will only be active for five minutes.
- It finally arrives on iOS the search for emojis which was already available on Android.
- It finally arrives on Android the new page graphics Archive usage already available on iOS.
- 10 new sets of custom Emojis created by the Telegram team.
- New interactive Emojis with full screen effects.
