Telegram has always been ahead of the competition when it comes to features on a messaging. This time around, the platform has revamped their “People Nearby” feature to help you connect with other Telegram users nearby.

This feature isn’t really new but initially, it was meant as a way to quickly exchange contacts with someone you’re talking to without having to type in the number yourself. All you had to do was open the People Nearby tab and share your contact by tapping on the profile of the person next to you, who also had to have their tab open.

With the new People Nearby 2.0, Telegram has taken this further to allow users to connect with strangers. The people nearby you tab now shows a list of people with whom you can connect with near you. If someone has enabled visibility to people nearby (it’s off by default), then their profile appears on a list that also includes public groups which are run within your locale.

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According to Telegram, this new feature can help you land a last-minute Valentine’s date, we don’t see that happening but what do we know. To interact with the feature, head over to Contacts > People Nearby.

New Animated Emojis

Alongside the new People Nearby feature, Telegram has added new animated emojis in line with Valentine’s day. “If your emoji has a heart, we’ll give it a beat,” reads Telegram’s blog. The following emojis have been updated into animated ones:                 .

They’ll now look like this whenever you send one to a contact:

Telegram has also updated user profiles making it easier for users to navigate photos, videos and links that they have shared with each other.