How to use Widgets in Telegram - Android

Telegram wants to be the go-to app when someone thinks of a chat app and as a result, the app doesn't want to miss out on any features which another app offers and Telegram doesn't. The app released a new version yesterday that comes with 'Widgets' about which we are going to tell you about. 

Widgets were introduced in iOS with iOS 14 while they have been a part of Android since the OS' initial days. You can put widgets on your home screen where they provide you with quick information about what's happening inside the app, so you don't have to open the app and then dig in and go to that specific page.

Telegram's widgets do the exact same thing. The app has two types of widgets including a chat widget and a shortcut widget. The Chat Widget shows a preview of recent messages, while the Shortcut Widget shows only names and profile pictures. You will have to be on the latest version of Telegram, that is version 7.5, to take advantage of widgets. 

Read More: WhatsApp vs Telegram vs Signal: Ultimate Comparison

To add the telegram widget to your home screen:

1. Press and hold on your home screen, then tap Widgets on Android or the (+) button on iOS 

2. Search for Telegram.

3. After finding it, click and hold on the type of widget you want to add 

4. Then select the chats which you want in the widget and then click on 'Done' on the top right. 

As per Telegram, on Android, chats and messages in the widget will always be up to date, and you can further expand the widget to take up more of your screen and show additional chats. On iOS, widgets will only get fresh data occasionally and can't be expanded due to system limitations. 

Along with widgets, Telegram also introduced auto-delete messages feature, expiring group links, unlimited members in groups and a bunch of other improvements so you get the best experience out of Telegram. It recently also added the ability to transfer your WhatsApp chats to Telegram which comes in handy if you want to switch and don't want to lose your chats.