Microsoft’s Copilot, the AI assistant gaining popularity on Windows devices, is spreading its wings. It’s now available on Telegram, a popular messaging app, offering features that go beyond simply chatting with a bot. While this expansion brings convenience, it also raises questions about user privacy in an increasingly interconnected digital world.
Telegram users can now leverage Copilot’s capabilities directly within the app. This AI companion, powered by GPT technology and Bing search, offers a variety of features:
Information Retrieval: Need answers on the fly? Ask Copilot anything from travel tips to sports updates, and it will retrieve information using Bing search.
Conversational Partner: Feeling social? Engage in casual conversation with Copilot. It can handle open-ended questions and provide engaging responses.
Recommendation Engine: Stuck in a decision rut? Let Copilot be your guide. It can recommend movies, restaurants, and activities based on your interests.
Accessing Copilot on Telegram is simple. Just search for “@CopilotOfficialBot” within the app and start interacting. Currently in beta, the service is free for all Telegram users on desktop, mobile devices, and the web version.
While Copilot’s convenience is undeniable, its growing presence across platforms raises privacy concerns. Microsoft assures users that their interactions with Copilot occur directly within Telegram, keeping data secure. However, Copilot, like any search engine, relies on publicly available information on the web. This raises the question of how much data users are comfortable sharing in exchange for convenience.
The integration of Copilot into Telegram represents a step forward in AI-powered communication tools. However, it also highlights the ongoing conversation surrounding user privacy in the age of AI assistants. As AI technology continues to evolve and permeate various platforms, it will be interesting to see how companies like Microsoft address privacy concerns while offering users the benefits of these intelligent companions.
Like Whatsapp, Telegram has become one of the world’s most popular messenger app to date. It is younger than Whatsapp though, if you are wondering. Its funky UI and the fact that you can use a single messenger account on multiple devices at the same time is really what attracts users into the platform though. Being in a popular position means that they do want to maintain that popularity by constantly introducing updates and improvements to the app.
In their latest update for the app, Telegram has introduced a few new features to the app. One of the most significant improvements is in the battery consumption department of the app. Telegram can now go into a sort of “power saving mode”.
The mode, as Telegram puts in their blog, is not just to improve battery life, or to extend battery life in emergencies. It is also a measure to improve the app’s performance on older smartphone devices. It can also be set to automatically turn on at a battery level threshold, or you can manually toggle it on or off on your own.
The mode will turn off things like “autoplay” for videos, stickers, and even GIFs that you receive or send to your friends. It also limits the interface animations and effects. All this will also lessen the app’s burden and demand on the CPU and GPU of your smartphone which translates to less power consumption from the hardware itself while running Telegram.
For iOS users, they can even opt to limit the app’s background updating. But that means you might not see Telegram notifying you of new messages unless you get into the app. In that case, you might just want to leave that feature alone unless your battery levels are at a desperate level.
Other improvements from the update includes a more granular control to playback speeds on received and sent media. You can now play videos at 0.2x to 2.5x speeds. You can also easily keep track of who has read your messages in groups with less than 100 members. It offers a timestamp data too, allowing more of an overview to who your messages have reached. Invitations to groups has been made a little better and easier too for users who restricts their profile. Those users will get invite links instead of being automatically added to the group. They have also updated the sticker order to show your ‘recently used’ stickers on top first before listing everything else you have. There are new packs of animated and interactive stickers and emoji you can explore and use. If you are a Telegram Premium user, you have access to ten new custom emoji packs. For more information on Telegram the improvements they have just introduced in their app, you can head over to their blog.
Telegram is still one of the most popular messengers in the world alongside WhatsApp and Signal. It is simple to use, you can have access to a single account via multiple smartphones or even PC devices at the same time, and you do not even have to back your data up periodically. Telegram automatically saves your chat via the cloud and allows you to access it instantaneously when you sign into your account from anywhere in the world, as long as you can remember the phone number you signed up with Telegram. WhatsApp only allows you to hold your account on a single device at a time. Your WhatsApp back up data is strictly stored inside your smartphone, Google Drive, or Apple Cloud; even WhatsApp cannot access your data, apparently.
There is a common denominator when it comes to the popular messengers you see across the globe too. For all the major platforms, you need to share your phone number to get an account. Telegram sees that as one point of failure in terms of your privacy and cyber security, so they look to do away with phone number.
Telegram’s more recent updates has done away with just that. Recently Telegram has started auctioning and selling off rare usernames for their new platform based on the TON Blockchain. TON also features their own cryptocurrency, the Toncoins. Buying the unique username allows users to sign up to an anonymous account without ever giving away your phone number. You can even do that yourself on Fragment. You get your verification code on Fragment as well, of course.
You are not getting something as unique as a codename or the regular usernames though. You are getting a bunch of random numbers that resemble a phone number. That unique number will be tied to your Fragment account so any verification that is needed for your Telegram sign ins will go to Fragment. This also eliminates the need for you to sign up and use Telegram via your own phone number to make it even more secure, and more anonymous in some sense.
The new update also brings a whole host of improvements largely aimed to make Telegram more secure and private. Users should already be familiar with self-destruct messages, where users can delete their messages without leaving so much as a trace in their chats. They can set a delete timer for their chats or messages too on the platform. Telegram is now expanding the feature from 2013 and give you more control over your digital footprint.
You can now automatically delete your messages in all your new chats with any user, regardless of who starts the chat. In some ways, it allows you to keep your inbox tidy by keeping it up to date. In private groups, users who have the authorization can also set timers to their messages to be deleted after some time.
Telegram also allows you to sort your messages and groups using via Topics. Instead of looking for names or specific chat groups, you can sort your messages on Telegrams like you see forums. Now it is more powerful than before because you can sort out messages from groups with more than 100 members. They also added a new two column mode for the feature for an even more streamlined navigation than before allowing you to quickly go from one topic to another.
They even updated the anti-spam filter to be even more aggressive than before allowing your chats and groups to be a lot cleaner than before. If you do not feel comfortable giving away your phone number to other people to add you on Telegram, they have included a temporary QR code generator for you to show to others, when you need it. The people adding you will not even get to see your phone number. If you want to know how Telegram uses your smartphone’s storage, there is an even more detailed view of it now on Telegram itself.
On top of these security updates, Telegram also added a few new features that has to do with emojis. Users of Telegram Premium gets access to new interactive emoji with full screen effects and everything. All Telegram users get access to all the security features that Telegram has introduced so far though, so if you have not spent a single dime on Telegram, you still do not have to. Telegram is available for free on Google’s Play Store and Apple App Store. For more information on Telegram’s update, you can visit their website.
There were rumours that Telegram will start offering a “premium” plan that allows users to have access to a more powerful Telegram than regular users. That rumour is not a rumour anymore though. As of today, Telegram has made that rumour a reality for about US$ 5 a month (MYR 22.99*).
Now is the time to ask; “why do you need to pay for Telegram Premium?”
As paying users, you get access to upload files with up to 4GB in size. That means you can technically send out an entire Full HD movie out to your friends via Telegram. Regular users can upload files up to 2GB. Paying users also get to download their files faster than before, as fast as your internet connection can go, which means that a 4GB file might not be too big of an issue when you have high-speed internet.
You get your limits doubled too with Telegram Premium. You can follow up to 1000 channels and groups. You can pin up to 10 chats instead of five. Instead of two accounts in a single app, premium users get to work with up to four accounts. At the same time, you can now write a longer bio on your Telegram profile with links in it. At the same time, with up to 400 saved GIFs, responding to texts with witty images is faster than ever.
Paying users can also convert voice to text within the chat now. Instead of listening to a voice note, you can just get Telegram to convert voice messages to texts. It also improves over time with your rating and input.
At the same time, paying users get to have unique reactions to texts. You have exclusive stickers that is only available to paying users and over 10 new exclusive emoji to react to messages. Even your profile pictures can be animated now, alongside a premium badge on your profile so that others know you are paying for Telegram. If you want, you can even change your app icon on your smartphone. Of course, the other improvement to Telegram with Premium is that you do not get served ads in public channels.
To get Telegram Premium, you must update your app to version 8.8 which is currently only available on iOS for now. The 8.8 update is coming to Android devices very soon, so we should see some paying users from both the iOS and Android realms. More information and improvements on Telegram version 8,8 can be found on their blog.
Telegram is arguably one of the more popular messaging apps. The app rose to prominence when the world was looking for an alternative to the Meta-owned WhatsApp and Messenger messaging apps. The app’s robust features propelled it into the limelight and it has continued to grow since.
That might be slowing down soon as the company looks to expand the app further. In order to support the many features and extensive development and adoption of the app, its founder, Pavel Durov, took to Telegram to say that they will be introducing a paid “Premium” tier to the app. It’s unclear what exactly the “Premium” tier will bring in terms of features and support, but it looks like the free version isn’t going anywhere soon.
In his announcement, Durov states, “…many have been asking us to raise the current limits even further, so we looked into ways to let you go beyond what is already crazy. The problem here is that if we were to remove all limits for everyone, our server and traffic costs would have become unmanageable, so the party would be unfortunately over for everyone…. After giving it some thought, we realized that the only way to let our most demanding fans get more while keeping our existing features free is to make those raised limits a paid option.”
While it seems like an earnest effort to help expand and improve the application, Durov is also looking into expanding the company. He reassures that the app’s current features will continue to be offered free of charge. However, those that choose to subscribe to Telegram Premium will get early dibs on new features and some extra benefits like larger file sizes when sending files. Telegram Premium will be rolling out sometime this month according to the announcement.
A dive into the Telegram Reddit uncovers some rumours that Telegram Premium will be available for MYR5. If you subscribe, it looks like you’ll be able to access extended emoticons and even access to send files of up to 4GB in size. This is twice the amount present in any gaming PC so far. Reddit also theories that the Premium subscription could start from USD$5.
Getting apps banned in certain countries is a lot more common than you think. China is a prime example of plenty of apps and platforms getting banned in favour of their own in-house platforms. Facebook and Google cannot operate in China currently. That also means your WhatsApp will not work in China unless you use a VPN to bypass all the restrictions.
Banning a communication platform or website does a few things for a country. For one, it helps curb the spreading of information from inside and outside the country. There is another aspect of monitoring the communication channels inside the country, but most independent platforms are encrypted enough that governments do not usually have a hold of your chat information – so we are mostly safe.
Countries like the United States wants to have more control over companies like Facebook and Google because of the amount of information that these platforms have. They argued that these companies have breached a few privacy laws and are using our data illegally. Information, after all, is power. But there is also another thing that social media and communication platforms can do. You can spread untrue information and that information can be gospel.
That is exactly what happened with Telegram in Brazil and the government has no choice but to curb the problem by banning the use of Telegram in the entire nation. Brazil has recently hosted a successful election campaign. Politics are never straightforward though and there will always be people who are unhappy about the results. That leads to misleading information being created and possibly circulated. The easiest way to disseminate disinformation is via social media.
While Facebook and Google have been doing their part in keeping misinformation in check on their own platforms, Telegram is a more open-sourced platform that has not done a lot in filtering out bad actors. They can manually filter disinformation channels and users though, if you email them. Brazil did the exact same thing anyone would then. Nothing happened though, and that led to Brazil banning the platform on Friday.
Telegram has since responded by removing the whatever reported posts that are pointed in the emails the Brazilian government has sent them. But they also claimed that they have missed the email. There is also a reason for them missing these emails. Apparently, Telegram uses a dedicated email for complains and takedown requests. The Brazilian court emailed Telegram on their general use email that they hardly check apparently. In that case, Telegram has also referred the Brazilian government to the correct email and rectified the issue.
As of today, Telegram is no longer banned in Brazil. Telegram also promises that they will be doing better in labelling and taking down accounts, groups, and even misinformed posts in general. They have removed classified information shared by the Brazilian President and removed accounts belonging and connected to an activist that is accused of misinformation.
Nowadays, most of us use a smartphone to communicate. One of the ways we do this is via communication apps such as WhatsApp, WeChat, Messenger, Skype, among others. Most of the time, these apps are free of charge and come with features that make communicating easier. However, we are at a point where there are way too many apps offering users different kinds of communication styles and experiences. This had led to a conundrum where users have become overwhelmed by messages leading to some messages being missed or overlook. Seeing that reality, Eric Migicovsky, the founder of the now Fitbit-owned Pebble, has unveiled a new, universal communication app, Beeper, which unify up to 15 chat networks.
Source: beeperhq.com
Beeper brings all the widely used chat applications under one roof. This allows users to not only be on multiple platforms at the same time, but also have one screen to rule them all. It offers users the option to reply messages in a fast and convenient way while being platform agnostic. The new app supports 15 chat networks including Apple’s iMessage. Beeper is available on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Users can enjoy all the features offered by their multiple apps such as unified search, snooze, and archiving messages on Beeper. However, supporting Apple’s iMessage is a little trickier. To allow Android, Windows, and Linux users to use Apple’s service on Beeper, the Migicovsky and his team had to find a workaround. This involves using Apple’s own devices for some digital trickery. The company is using an always on Apple device as a bridge to enable iMessage on Beeper. If you don’t have an Apple device to use as this bridge, the company will send the user a jailbroken iPhone with the Beeper app installed; otherwise, it’s as simple as downloading the app on your Mac or iPhone to enable the service.
Source: beeperhq.com
The platform is built on an open-source platform called Matrix. The platform is run as a non-profit by the Matrix.org Foundation like Mozilla. It offers a set of APIs and SDKs for developing and running chat platforms. It enables decentralized, secure communication on these platforms with end-to-end encryption. This also means that larger adopters of Beeper have the option to run the application on their own servers for additional security and peace of mind.
Source: beeperhq.com
It’s pretty hard to imagine that Beeper would be available for free given the elaborate lengths the creators have taken to enable all the services. For those interested in using Beeper, it come with a monthly subscription fee of USD$10 (MYR40.43) for the app. If you need the jail-broken iPhone the fee is not included in the subscription.
Beeper is hardly the first app on the market that aggregates chat platforms into a single app. There are apps such as Franz and Rambox which are available on the internet without the support for iMessage. That said, Beeper holds much promise when it comes to having literally all your messaging platforms under one roof. There will be more chat networks for users to enjoy soon with night mode coming in the next version.
