Telegram introduces paid premium subscription

The messaging service Telegram has become a popular alternative to the services of Meta like for example Whatsapp or the Facebook– Became a messenger. Telegram wants to expand its features soon and will therefore offer one in the future paid version which is intended to offer users some advantages.

Telegram gets a paywall

Telegram will soon start adding some features behind one paywall to deliver. This was announced by the founder Pavel Durov on your own platform. One is planned for this month paid premium subscription be introduced that the users “additional features, speed and resources” should offer.

In his statement, Durov only hinted at a few functions that will be introduced with the subscription. Among them should early access to new featuresthe possibility upload larger filessuch as Stickers and Reactionswhich are only available in the paid version.

According to the information so far, the subscription seems to be aimed at users who use the app a lot. Data from the app’s beta suggests that the monthly Subscription price in the US $4.99 will be and faster downloads, voice-to-text messages, Tools to customize the chats and more included. Experience has shown that the price in Germany will remain similar.

Basic functions remain free of charge

However, Durov also made it clear that the existing functions of the app remain free of charge. In addition, the paid functions should not affect the free use of the messenger. This will allow non-subscribers to see larger files that subscribed users upload. You will also be able to see and interact with exclusive stickers and reactions.

As Durov explains, the payment option is intended to help the service cut some of the costs associated with increasing what Durov calls “already insane” Limits on file sizes, chats and media are connected – something that according to Durov “unmanageable” would be if it were offered to all users. A paid subscription has been in the works for a while, with Durov first mentioning the possibility in 2020.

No more ads

The beta version also suggests that premium users no advertising in public channels will see. This is in line with Durov’s previous promise that he wanted to give users a way to turn off the ads — though he didn’t mention that they would have to pay to do so.

However, the company doesn’t seem to have any plans to expand advertising beyond public channels. “I believe Telegram should be primarily funded by its users, not advertisers”says Durov in his post announcing the premium subscription.

“In this way, our users will always remain our main priority.”

Of course, these statements also depend on how many users opt for the premium subscription. For this change to be worthwhile, a large part of the 500 million users select the payment option.