Telegram updated to version 12.5: now there are user tags in chats, forwarding of messages is prohibited, and stickers from photos have been added

Telegram 12.5 – main new features

#What changedHow it looks in the app1Group tagsParticipants can add a label to their name: position, interests, subject, etc. Admin tags are always highlighted in color. Admins can either enter tags themselves or allow other participants to do so.2Private chat protectionIn settings you can disable copying, forwarding, screenshots, and saving media from a specific private conversation. Once enabled, participants can no longer share message content.3GIF captionsWhen selecting an animation from the GIF panel you can immediately add a caption above or below and send everything in one message.4Sticker creation from photosAny image from Telegram can be turned into a sticker: cut out objects, add text, emojis, etc., then save it to “Favorites” or include it in a set.5Editing GIFs/stickersThe photo editor now offers tools for adding text, drawings, emojis, cropping, and compressing animations directly from the media panel.6Voting time in pollsIn public polls users see the exact timestamp of their vote, increasing result transparency.7Gradual AI‑bot answer displayYou can enable a “smooth” output mode: bot answers appear as they are generated instead of all at once.8Telegram authenticationNow you can use your Telegram account to log into third‑party sites or apps by sharing only your phone number without verification. The service can also be allowed to send messages to your chat and receive notifications directly.9Text‑based eventsClicking on a highlighted fragment of a message opens a menu to add an event to the calendar or set a reminder, automatically showing the recipient’s local date and time.10Dynamic timestamps from botsBots can insert current date and time, taking into account each user’s timezone.

> In short: version 12.5 adds flexible tags for group participants, enhanced private chat protection, convenient GIF captions, the ability to create and edit stickers directly from photos, new animation handling options, more transparent polls, smooth AI‑bot answer output, Telegram authentication, calendar event integration, and dynamic timestamps from bots. All of this makes communication even easier and safer.