Messaging app Telegram introduced silent messaging and limits on group chat participation, as it moved to cut down on disruptive notifications.

Silent mode allows users to have messages delivered to friends in individual and group chats without an audible notification, regardless of whether the recipient’s phone is muted. Telegram said the feature will give users greater freedom to message friends “when you know they are sleeping, studying or attending a meeting”.

The group chat tool will allow administrators to set limits on how often individual users can send messages. Intervals range from one message per 30 seconds to one per hour: a timer in the composition box will show how long users must wait before sending their next message.

Telegram said the tool will help make group chats, which can include up to 200,000 users, “more orderly, while raising the value of each individual message”.

Other updates to the app include the ability to set custom titles for group administrators; timestamps to highlight certain moments in video messages; animated emojis; and new theme colours for night mode on Apple iOS.