To get June started off right, Telegram just released v5.7 for Android. The main focus continues to be on privacy and improving those elements, but there's more, too. This update also comes with probably my favorite cartoon yet.

Here's the Play Store changelog:

As usual with these updates, there's a lot to break down. First up, Telegram now lets you decide who can see your phone number, whether it's your contacts, no one, or a whitelist. For the privacy conscious, this is an excellent addition and the first one I adjusted when I sideloaded the update.

Next, you can add people or groups to a always or never share exception for privacy. This means you can share something with one group, but another won't be able to see it. Bots have also gotten some love, with full, seamless web integration. This means you can use one to login to some services with Telegram when you tap a link, meaning you can be logged in by the time the webpage loads. The possibilities are nigh endless.

If you're a big fan of the channel and group features, they're finally crossing each other's borders, meaning that channels can have discussions and groups have big announcements. Seems so simple, right? Channel subscribers will see a "Discuss" button below the main feed, which will show them the latest post and any comments. And speaking of channels, you no longer need a Telegram account to view public ones.

We're finally getting scam alerts, too. Finally, the Android app is getting some visual tweaks to message search and most confirmation dialogs to bring them in line with the new design, including a new carousel for selecting the chat theme (the Arctic Blue is really nice if you want a light theme).

The update should be available for everyone in the Play Store, but you can always sideload it from APK Mirror if you'd rather.

Source: Telegram