Telegram will offer a paid subscription in a Premium plan, equipped with special functions. Do not panic, however: the messaging application will always remain free in its standard version.
Telegram, the rival instant messenger of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Signal and many others, has always been free. Renowned for its high level of encryption – and therefore security in terms of the confidentiality of user data, even if some experts have reservations regarding this – it sees its number of downloads increase each time WhatsApp breaks down or finds itself at the heart of a controversy involving security breaches or changes to the conditions of use modifying the use of personal data. Launched in 2013, the application created by Russian developers currently totals more than 460 million active users per week worldwide, with an increase in downloads since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Telegram has always been free. But with the increase in the number of users, which induces an increase in operating costs (servers, bandwidth, etc.), and the need to constantly add new functions in order to face competition, the boss of Telegram, the Russian Pavel Durov, admitted that the business model of the application was no longer tenable. This is why the company has been studying new monetization techniques for a while. In particular, it has experimented with placing advertisements in public channels while ensuring that the privacy of users is respected – these ads do not concern private channels and they do not track users. But making it the heart of the application’s business model has been discarded and a new solution has been found: the paid subscription.
Telegram Premium: a special formula for intensive users
In a long message published on Telegram, Pavel Durov explains that many Telegram users are asking for the lifting of limits on chatting and sending images or videos. Unfortunately, it is impossible to respond to this request free of charge since this would lead to a sharp increase in operating costs. To meet these demands, the company has therefore found a solution: the paid subscription. Called Telegram Premium, it will allow users to transfer larger files and have access to reactions and exclusive stickers. For the director of Telegram, it is a way to bring Telegram monetization back to users, which adding ads to group conversations does not do, since the people behind the ads have their own interests. .
Do not panic, however, the announcement of this news does not mean that Telegram will become paid for all users. Telegram Premium will be a “pro” version of the application, allowing access to more functions. The idea would therefore be to leave the application as it is – free –, but at the same time acceding to user requests by adding new paid options. Pavel Durov promises that “tAll existing features will remain free, and more free features will be added later“. In this way, users who do not want to pay for a Telegram Premium account will not be left out.
While the price of the subscription and its release date have not been officially communicated, the data found in the beta version suggests that the subscription will be released by the end of June 2022 for a price of 4.99 dollars. per month – consider the same amount in euros. Assumptions to be confirmed soon.