This archive report was first published on 17 August 2020.
On August 17, 2020, Telegram marked a significant milestone in its history, reaching 400 million users. As part of its celebrations, the platform promised to introduce secure video calling, a feature that has now been rolled out to users.
Video calls on Telegram are currently available as an alpha, meaning they are still in early testing. However, users can already access this feature, which allows for person-to-person video calls. This is a significant development, especially considering the platform's history of allowing users to chat via video in recorded bursts.
Telegram has stated that it is working on introducing group video calling in the coming months. This feature is already available on rival platforms, such as WhatsApp Messenger, which allows users to add up to 8 contacts to a video call using the 'group call' feature.
For person-to-person calls, WhatsApp drops video calls to audio-only calls when the network service is degraded. This is a feature that Google's Duo has also implemented, and one that Telegram users hope will be available soon. Telegram allows users to easily switch between video on and off during calls.
Video calls have become increasingly popular since the COVID-19 pandemic, with many turning to this feature for meetings, schooling, family gatherings, and other personal events.
