Telegram adds location-flavored extras and full group ownership transfers

“Telegram apps now support transferring ownership rights from any groups and channels to other users,” it writes. “Grant full admin rights to your Chosen One to see the Transfer Ownership button.”

It’s not quite a self-destruct button but the ‘pass the ownership baton’ feature could come in handy for users living in repressive states with restrictions on freedom of expression — if, for example, it allows group chat/channel admins to stay one step ahead of state forces which may target them in a bid to close conversations down.

In such a scenario, there’s the added risk that a channel admin could be personally targeted by police to extract data on group messages and other members. So enabler quicker transfers of ownership may enable comms to be maintained despite state attempts to disrupt and interfere — even if the original admin needs to temporarily delete their Telegram account to protect its data from being accessed via their device.

However, like any tech tool there’s also the opposite risk; i.e. that police could force a channel admin to transfer ownership to a group member of their choosing and then take it over and close it down.

Other features landing in the latest Telegram app update include more controls over notifications; Siri shortcuts for users of the iOS app; and tweaks to the theme picker and icon options, also on iOS.

More in Telegram’s blog.