Telegram's new voice chat features put Clubhouse in serious trouble and turn the messaging app into a powerful tool for broadcasting audio content.
While the Clubhouse app for Android is still awaited and the platform is still only open to those who get an invite, the competition isn't standing idly by. On the contrary, it's raising the bar: Telegram has just pulled off a major coup by launching new features for voice chats that make the messaging app a great alternative to Clubhouse.
Voice chats are a fairly recent addition to Telegram, since they arrived in December 2020, but in a very short time this feature has been developed brilliantly and is now definitely complete thanks to its extension to groups and channels, where there will be no limit to the number of participants. This is a very important innovation for Telegram, because being able to broadcast live to everyone (and also record, as we'll see shortly) a voice chat potentially transforms the app into a content distribution platform: podcasts, "radio" shows, in-depth programs can be created and disseminated with a simplicity that was unthinkable before.
Telegram voice chats for groups and channels
The main new feature is the one just described: the ability to launch a voice chat not only from your personal account, but also within a channel. The administrator of the channel will be able to do it and will be able to invite other Telegram users who will be able to participate both "privately" and with their own channel.
To start a voice chat just open the group or channel of which we are administrators, tap on the main menu and select "Start voice chat". Then, just like with personal voice chats, we'll be able to choose who to invite to speak and send a link to the speakers or listeners.
Recorded Voice Chats
The second big news is that it's now possible to record a Telegram voice chat. Administrators can do this either at the beginning of the voice chat or at any other time by tapping on the appropriate button within the main menu.
From the same menu you can decide when to stop recording. Audio files become immediately available in the Saved Messages area. Finally, for transparency, if a chat is recorded, a red dot is displayed next to the title.
Telegram voice chats: the show of hands
Finally, then, arrives on Telegram the ability to raise your hand to ask for the word within a voice chat. This feature is available, of course, only in chats where participants are muted.