Telegram has begun rolling out version 11.14.0 for Android and iOS, introducing a suite of new features aimed at enhancing search, customization, monetization, and developer tools.
Highlights
- Public Post Search (Premium-only): Introduces a dedicated “Posts” tab, allowing Premium users to find public channel content using keywords—boosting discoverability and engagement.
- Story Albums: Enables users to create curated highlight reels of Stories on profiles and channels for better storytelling and content organization.
- Gift Collections: Virtual gifts can now be grouped by theme or rarity and displayed publicly—enhancing identity, collectibility, and creator appeal.
- Profile Ratings: A new badge system that reflects user engagement with Telegram Stars; used as a potential trust signal in monetized communities.
- Premium Gifts (Coming Soon): Teased exclusive gifts with limited availability to add scarcity-based incentives for Premium subscribers.
- BotFather Mini App: Revamps the bot management interface with support for fullscreen mode, geolocation, custom icons, and improved UX for developers.
- Mini App Ecosystem Expansion: With 500M+ monthly users, Mini Apps can now gain even more traction through better search and discoverability tools.
- Trust Layer with Ratings: Profile Ratings may eventually help admins and developers filter or prioritize trusted users without full identity verification.
While several updates are exclusive to Premium users, the release also includes enhancements for the all user base.
Public Post Search Expands Content Discovery
One of the addition is the Public Post Search, currently available only to Premium subscribers. This feature introduces a dedicated “Posts” tab in the Search section, allowing users to explore content from public channels more efficiently.
Rather than being limited to usernames or chat titles, users can now find posts based on keywords—expanding the utility of Telegram as a platform for content discovery.
This feature arrives at a time when Telegram’s scale makes search increasingly important. As of March 2025, the platform reached 1 billion monthly active users, with over 450 million logging in daily. Millions of posts are generated across countless public channels each day.
With Public Post Search, Telegram is providing users access to a vast and previously harder-to-navigate content ecosystem, potentially increasing user engagement and retention.
Story Albums Introduce Organized Content Sharing
Another addition is Story Albums, a feature that lets users group Stories into curated highlight reels on their profile or channel.
Whether used to showcase product launches, share travel updates, or document key moments, Story Albums offer a more structured and permanent way to present content.
Albums can be created directly from the “Posts” tab, offering both creators and everyday users a cleaner storytelling approach.
Gift Collections and Profile Ratings
Telegram continues to expand its virtual economy with Gift Collections and a new Profile Rating system. Gift Collections let users organize virtual gifts by theme or rarity, and display them on their profile or channel.
A single gift can appear in multiple collections, making this feature particularly appealing to creators seeking to build identity or increase visibility through collectibility.
The Profile Rating feature introduces a badge system that reflects a user’s level of activity with Telegram Stars—the app’s in-platform currency. Ratings increase through spending actions such as purchasing gifts or funding posts, and decrease with refunds or conversions.
This score is prominently displayed on profiles and can function as a credibility signal, especially in monetized environments like Suggested Posts.
These changes align with Telegram’s growing emphasis on creator monetization. Telegram Stars support a range of income streams—from ad revenue to subscriptions and direct gifts—helping creators earn through interactions that are increasingly gamified and trust-based.
Premium subscribers, who numbered 10 million as of September 2024, contributed approximately $292 million in revenue that year, accounting for nearly a quarter of Telegram’s total earnings.
Premium Gifts Hint at Status-Driven Incentives
Telegram also previewed Premium Gifts, a forthcoming feature that will include exclusive virtual items available in limited quantities for Premium users.
While specific details have yet to be disclosed, this offering appears designed to add scarcity-based incentives to the existing gift ecosystem, possibly boosting engagement among the platform’s most active users.
BotFather Mini App Enhances Developer Experience
For developers, the update brings the launch of the BotFather Mini App—a dedicated management interface that improves the experience of maintaining bots and mini apps.
It supports features like custom icons, fullscreen mode, motion tracking, geolocation, and home screen shortcuts. This enhancement signals Telegram’s ambition to support more complex, app-like experiences on its platform.
Mini Apps already serve over 500 million monthly active users, offering functionality such as games, e-commerce flows, and services—all without incurring third-party platform fees.
With public channel content now searchable through the new Posts tab, Mini Apps and their offers may see increased visibility, enhancing monetization opportunities for developers.
Profile Ratings as a Trust Layer
The Profile Rating system is also being positioned as a potential layer of trust for Telegram’s broader ecosystem.
Though initially linked to payments and user activity, it may eventually allow developers or group admins to filter or prioritize interactions with highly rated users.
This could be useful in monetized communities or marketplaces, adding a lightweight verification signal without needing full KYC or identity disclosures.
