Telegram Tests New “Communities” Feature to Group Thematic Chats
Telegram is currently testing a brand new feature that allows users to merge several thematic group chats into single unified communities. This upcoming development was recently highlighted by the dedicated update channel Beta Info.
The new organisational tool is presently accessible exclusively on the test server for the Telegram Android 12.9 beta version.
Customisation and privacy
Under the proposed system group owners will have the freedom to create entirely new communities or seamlessly attach their chats to existing ones. Administrators can further personalise these spaces by selecting a unique name and assigning a profile picture.
Once inside a community users will navigate between two distinct types of chats:
- Public chats: Fully visible and accessible to all community members.
- Hidden chats: Strictly reserved for users who have received a direct invitation.
By default any participant has the ability to suggest adding a new group to the wider community. However owners who prefer stricter control can easily limit this specific permission to designated administrators.
Streamlined navigation
When individual chats are linked into a community they will not instantly disappear from a user’s primary dialogue list. Each group will continue to display separately to ensure everyday continuity. For those seeking a cleaner interface administrators can activate a specialised mode that gathers all related community chats into one dedicated section to drastically simplify navigation.
While the current testing phase only supports standard group chats researchers have already discovered references within the beta code pointing toward future channel integration. The developers have not yet announced when this specific channel functionality might become publicly available.
Any major interface changes to the messenger carry significant weight in Uzbekistan. According to a 2024 report published by Wunder Digital Telegram is the undisputed primary communication tool in the republic.
The platform boasts an estimated 25 mln active users which represents 76% of the national internet audience. While Telegram firmly leads the market other popular messaging alternatives in the country include WhatsApp and Imo.
