Case Study: Improving Telegram’s Navigation & Group Chat Experience

 

1. Introduction

Telegram is one of the fastest-growing messaging platforms, offering seamless communication through personal chats, groups, and channels. However, as user engagement increases, two key problems have emerged:

1. Cluttered Chat List: Personal chats, groups, and channels are all mixed together, making it difficult for users to quickly access one-on-one conversations.
2. Disorganized Group Chats: Large groups become overwhelming due to multiple conversations happening simultaneously, leading to message overload and difficulty in following discussions.

This case study explores a two-part product improvement to enhance user experience:

• Bottom HUD Navigation: Splitting personal chats and groups/channels for easier access.
• Slack-Like Threads: Organizing group conversations for better engagement.

2. Identifying User Pain Points

Major challenges identified:

Navigation Issues

• Users struggle to find personal messages in a crowded chat list.
• Groups and channels dominate the chat screen, making it harder to focus on personal conversations.
• Switching between different sections requires extra taps, reducing efficiency.

Group Chat Overload

• Important messages get lost in active groups.
• Conversations lack structure, making it difficult to follow discussions.
• Users resort to replying with long message chains, creating clutter.

3. User Stories

As a Telegram User:

• I want to quickly switch between personal chats and group chats to focus on direct conversations.

• I want an easy way to track and join discussions in large groups without losing context.

• I want to see only my personal messages when opening Telegram, reducing distractions from group messages.

4. Proposed Solution

A. Bottom HUD Navigation for Better Accessibility

Introducing a persistent bottom navigation bar with four tabs:

1. Personal Chats – Displays only one-on-one conversations.
2. Groups & Channels – Dedicated space for group chats and channel subscriptions.
3. Calls – Quick access to voice and video call history.
4. Status (Stories) – Direct entry to Telegram Stories, improving engagement.

Why This Works

• Reduces clutter in the main chat list.
• Faster access to personal conversations without scrolling.
• Organized structure similar to WhatsApp’s "Updates" tab, enhancing usability.

B. Threaded Messaging for Group Chats

We introduce a threading system to group conversations under specific messages.

Key Features

• Threaded Replies: Users can respond to a message in a dedicated thread instead of the main chat.
• Collapsible Threads: Users can hide or expand threads to reduce noise.
• Unread Thread Indicators: Notifies users of new messages within a thread.
  

Why This Works

• Keeps group chats organized by separating discussions.
• Makes it easier to follow long conversations.
• Reduces message spam and improves readability.

5. Expected Impact

Bottom HUD Navigation  -    Reduction in time spent searching for personal messages Threads for Group Chats -    Increase in engagement due to better message organization Calls Tab                            -    Higher adoption of Telegram voice/video calls Status Tab                          -    Increased Telegram Stories engagement 6. Conclusion This UI improvement will enhance Telegram’s navigation, making personal chats more accessible while keeping group conversations structured through threads. The changes will: Improve accessibility to personal messages. Reduce message clutter in groups. Increase user engagement and retention.