Telegram to launch Instagram-like Stories in response to user requests

Popular messaging platform Telegram will soon be adding Instagram-like Stories to its features in July. Founder Pavel Durov announced on its Telegram channel that this was in response to users' requests, saying that “more than half of all feature requests that we receive are related to Stories”.

Initially hesitant to add the feature as it is already ubiquitous in social media apps, Durov said that Telegram wouldn't be true to its identity if it didn't listen to its users and innovate on existing formats.

Telegram's version of Stories will be privacy-focused, flexible, with captions and a compact UI, and will support dual camera to use the front and rear cameras simultaneously. Durov said that Stories are currently in their last testing phase and will be available in early July.

Stories, popularized by Snapchat and Instagram, have become a staple in social media apps nowadays. However, Telegram's approach to this feature is unique, as it aims to maintain its privacy-focused identity.