Telegram picks up a new download manager and redesigns its attachment menu

Telegram home screen (Image credit: Jeramy Johnson / Android Central)

What you need to know

• Telegram now makes it easier to manage your downloads with a new dedicated button.
• Its attachment menu has also been redesigned to let you preview an album's appearance when sent.
• Telegram users can now live stream using other apps like OBS Studio.
• Other updates include phone number links, a redesigned login flow, transparency effect for night mode on Android, and more.

Telegram is one of the best messaging apps for Android that regularly gets new features more often than the rest of the bunch. Today, the service rolled out a host of new updates that make it easier to manage your downloads, go live using third-party apps, and more.

The latest update means you'll start seeing a new icon to the right of the search bar showing in-progress downloads. You can tap the button to view, pause, or resume your downloads.

Tapping will also bring you to the dedicated Downloads tab, where you can see more options to manage files being downloaded, either in bulk or individually. For example, you can raise the priority of a particular item or view it in chat.

Telegram has also completely redesigned the attachment menu when you send multiple photos or videos. You can now preview how the album will appear in the chat after sending it. You can even rearrange or remove items you deem unnecessary.

The semi-transparent headers in night mode that Telegram launched on the iOS app in June of last year are now available on Android.

"In Night Mode, panels and headers have a subtle transparency effect – letting chat backgrounds, stickers, and media shine through as you scroll," Telegram said.

Users can also start a live stream using third-party streaming platforms such as OBS Studio and XSplit. This means bloggers and journalists, for example, can add overlays and multi-screen layouts to their broadcast.

You can also create links for phone numbers to make it easier for people to open chats with you, assuming your privacy settings allow anyone to find you by phone number.

These are just the latest in a series of regular updates from Telegram, with the most recent being the ability to create video stickers without the use of special software and improved reactions.

Jay Bonggolto always keeps a nose for news. He is a tech journalist based in the Philippines who has been writing about consumer tech for the past six years and has been using various Android phones since falling in love with Jelly Bean. When he's not writing, he likes to spend time outside, stealing scenes with his phone camera.