Telegram has amassed over 700 million monthly active users and is rolling out a premium tier with additional features as the instant messaging platform pushes to monetize a portion of its large user base. The firm did not disclose how much it is charging for the premium tier, but the monthly subscription appears to be priced in the range of $4.99 to $6.
The
premium tier adds a range of additional and improved features to the messaging
app, which topped 500 million monthly active users in January 2021.
Telegram Premium enables users to send files as large as 4GB (up from 2GB) and
supports faster downloads, for instance, Telegram said.
Paying
customers will also be able to follow up to 1,000 channels, up from 500 offered
to free users, and create up to 20 chat folders with as many as 200 chats in
each. Telegram Premium users will also be able to add up to four accounts in
the app and pin up to 10 chats.
The move is Dubai-headquartered firm’s attempt to keep its development “driven
primarily by its users, not advertisers,” it said. It’s also the first time an
instant messaging app with hundreds of millions of users has rolled out a
premium tier. Signal, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Apple’s Messages and
Google’s Messages, some of Telegram’s top rivals, don’t offer a premium tier.
Telegram
founder and chief executive Pavel Durov said earlier this month the move to
launch a premium tier was intended to respond to user demand for
additional storage/bandwidth.
“After
giving it some thought, we realized that the only way to let our most demanding
fans get more while keeping our existing features free is to make those raised
limits a paid option,” he said.
Some
analysts had earlier hoped that Telegram would be able to monetize the platform
through its blockchain token project. But after several delays and regulatory
troubles, Telegram said in 2020 that it had abandoned the project and
offered to return $1.2 billion it had raised from investors.
In
March 2021, Telegram raised over $1 billion from a number of
investors including Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners by selling 5-year
pre-IPO convertible bonds.
“Today is an important day in the history of Telegram – marking not only a new
milestone, but also the beginning of Telegram’s sustainable monetization,” the
firm said in a blog post Sunday.
In
India, the premium version is priced at $6 for iPhone users. Alex Barredo, a
Spain-based technology commentator, reported seeing €5.49 ($5.77) as the
monthly cost. A Telegram spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Premium
users will also have the ability to convert voice messages into texts, access
exclusive stickers and reactions and use animated pictures as their profile photos.
They will also be offered a no-ads experience. (In some markets, sponsored
messages are shown in large, public one-to-many channels.)
Durov
has pledged to keep a number of core features in the app free to users and also
continue to build new features for the non-paying audience.
On Sunday, the firm said it is rolling out a feature, called join requests, to
enable all users to join a public group without the need for an invite link.
Another new feature aimed at free users will make it possible for verified
groups and channels to show their badge at the top of the chat. The new update
also supports rendering of animations at120 frames per second for new iPads and
iPhones.
“This
update includes over 100 fixes and optimizations to the mobile and desktop apps
– eliminating bugs, improving speed, and expanding minor features,” Telegram
said.
In
a note to clients in May this year, analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein reported
that Telegram was getting “increasingly competitive” with its features. “While
WhatsApp and Messenger still comprise the majority of messaging app downloads
in our selected group, Telegram has taken significant share from both apps,
especially Messenger,” they wrote.
Source:techcrunch