Telegram Testing New Premium Subscription

Monday May 2, 2022 9:28 am PDT by Juli Clover

Popular secure messaging app Telegram is testing new monetization strategies, and hints of a new Telegram Premium subscription have shown up in the 8.7.2 beta version of the iOS app.

As noted by Android Police, the beta includes both stickers and reactions that are locked behind a paywall. Users who select these premium stickers and reactions are prompted to sign up for the Telegram Premium service, and non-subscribers cannot see the stickers or reactions as they are blocked for those who do not pay. Non-subscribers who receive a premium reaction or sticker are prompted to sign up for a subscription themselves.

As of right now, Telegram makes money through ad sales and features for group channels, but there are no add-on purchase options that target individual users. Should this new Premium feature be implemented, that could change.

It is not unusual for social networks to charge extra for premium reactions, as Twitch and Discord also have subscription options that include additional emoji and customization options. Telegram founder Pavel Durov has previously said that Telegram does not plan to charge for core features that already exist, though he did say in 2020 that additional monetization strategies would be coming.

Full details on what might be included in some kind of Telegram Premium subscription are unknown at this time, and there is no word on when the functionality might see a wider rollout following the beta test.

Tag: Telegram

Top Rated Comments

lucascampelo

18 months ago

If Apple would open up iMessage to everyone, we wouldn't need Telegram, Whatsapp, etc... and would all be using a superior secure messaging app.
And yet, all the apple users always never want this? Are apple users just stupid or....

Only US folks think that. I wouldn’t use iMessage by default even if it was pre-installed on every phone ever released. iMessage is hugely behind in features (and it also needs more bandwidth to send messages, making it slower than the competition).

Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)

alexandr

All a messaging app needs to do is send and receive messages. So if it works with other SMS apps than it works with all phones.

Thank god you're not in charge of innovation...

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

nvmls

You can tell iMessage only users have no idea what a decent messaging service is like ?

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

zorinlynx

Have they gotten their white supremacist problems under control? Last time I looked, it was all Stormfront weirdos posting.

What groups are you hanging out in that are full of people like that? There's no such people in the groups I'm in.

Personally I'd leave any group where the moderators tolerate that kind of content.

contacos

Paying for stickers, what year is this? Reminds me of Jamba and those 2,99€ Nokia wallpapers / ringtones in the 00s

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Derekuda

Messaging apps should be able to send full size videos, pictures, audio clips, online status, read reciepts, and be encrypted. Let me know when your SMS does all these things.
We are half way there with RCS, but Apple won't adhere to new standards.... It's the same reason why you are still using lighting ports on iphones while the rest of apples products use USB-C.

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