Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Telegram is trying to crack down on scams with a new feature that lets official third-party services assign verification icons to users and chats, the messaging service announced on Wednesday.
This is separate from the verification process Telegram has for public figures and organizations. Instead of displaying a blue checkmark, accounts and chats verified by third-party services will have a unique icon appear to the left of their name. If you click on the profile of a third-party verified chat or account, you can see which service verified it and why.
GIF: Telegram
The profile of a verified account or chat might say something like, “Verified by the Learning Standards Authority for quality language education.”
Telegram says only services with an official bot verified by Telegram can apply to become a third-party verifier, helping to “prevent scams and reduce misinformation.” X has a similar feature that lets verified organizations assign affiliation badges to related accounts.
The update comes just months after French authorities arrested Telegram CEO Pavel Durov over claims he enabled illegal activity on the platform. Since then, Telegram has updated its privacy policy, disabled “misused” features, and changed its tone surrounding moderation. Durov said Telegram reached profitability last year, with total revenue surpassing $1 billion.
Along with this update, Telegram is also rolling out new search filters that should make it easier to find certain chats, the ability to scan QR codes using Telegram’s in-app camera on iOS and Android, as well as a way to turn digital gifts into NFTs.