For the past couple of months, video calls have been an essential need for many due to the physical restrictions around the world, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, instant messaging apps such as Zoom, WhatsApp, and FaceTime have been widely utilised to keep up with the rising demand of video calls lately.

Jumping on the bandwagon, Telegram in its official blog has announced that the video calling feature is now available for Android and iOS users. In an effort to stay secure, the Telegram video calling feature will also be protected by end-to-end encryption similarly following the footsteps of rival companies, WhatsApp and FaceTime.

To make use of this update, Telegram users can access the video calling feature from a profile page of the person they wish to contact with an option of switching the video on or off, should they be interrupted by an incoming voice call midway. With picture-in-picture support, users can multitask and scroll chats simultaneously while still being on a video call with another.

Currently, Telegram’s video calling feature is only available for one-to-one based calls. However, the company has confirmed that the Telegram team is currently working on launching group video calls in the next coming months.

Having said that, until group-based video calls are launched, users will have to settle for a one-to-one basis video calling for the time being. Still, this is a huge update by Telegram considering the lack of video call capability within its app for many years.

(Source: Telegram Blog)