Polls 2.0: Visible Votes, Multiple Answers, and Quiz Mode

Since we first added polls for groups and channels, they've been used for everything from deciding where to have lunch to organizing leaderless protests. Today we're expanding the range of possibilities with three new kinds of Telegram polls.

Visible Votes

Previously, all polls on Telegram were anonymous. With this update, you can create polls that allow everyone in the group to see who voted for what. Now you will know exactly which friends you disagree with on the matter of pineapple and pizza.

Naturally, you can still create anonymous polls to make sure nobody finds out it was you who voted for broccoli instead of cookies.

Multiple Answers

One of the best ways to settle the score is with polls that allow people to select multiple answers. Scheduling events, or choosing a playlist of songs for a party – sometimes you need more than one choice.

Our aunt who has a knack for statistics and exploring bizarre correlations kept asking for this feature – and we just couldn't say no. (33% of developers who didn't refuse this request were also found to be addicted to cheese.)

Quiz Mode

For the game show guru and “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” contestant in all of us, polls now have Quiz Mode. Such polls have one correct answer and can power anything from trivia games to public service exams.

As if guessing right wasn't sweet enough, correct answers will trigger a shower of confetti.

Creating Polls

Polls can be created in groups or channels (they feel lonely in one-on-one chats). Simply choose the “Poll” option in the attachment menu. Type in your question, add answer options, choose the settings that fit your purpose best – and you're ready to go:

Bot API and Quiz Bot

All the new poll types are supported in today's update to our Bot API, so bot developers can build on this new functionality.

As an example, we've created a Quiz Bot that lets you create multi-question quizzes and share them with others. It also lets you add text or media before questions to help create exam-style prompts with graphs and tables – or better yet, your own Know Your Meme tests.

Once your quiz is ready, you can share it to a group or channel – or invite users to answer questions privately, in a chat with the bot. To see how this works, try our demo quiz: Who is Who in the 'Great Minds' sticker pack.

The bot will keep tabs on how many questions users got right and how much time it took them to complete the quiz. It also keeps a global leaderboard for each quiz you create.

Message Corners

In addition to the new polls, our apps just got a new visual setting. If you find your Telegram messages too hip to be square (or round, depending on your platform), you can tweak the appearance of message bubbles in Settings:

Download Progress Counters on Android

Just like on iOS, Android users can now see exact progress counters when downloading or uploading files – if they're in the mood to count bits and bytes.

And that's it for today. Here's to a good new year full of updates. Stay tuned!

January 23, 2020
The Telegram Team