Popular secure messaging app Telegram is testing new monetization strategies for a new Telegram Premium subscription that have appeared in version 8.7.2 beta of the iOS app.
Telegram appears to be testing another way for the hugely popular messaging app to start generating revenue. Beta testers for Telegram’s iOS app noticed something new in version 8.7.2, as first spotted by Android Police: a new set of stickers and reaction emoji that you can only unlock “by subscribing to Telegram Premium.”.
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Telegram Premium, of course, doesn’t exist yet. But right now, users with access to Telegram’s TestFlight versions and its Test Server can send each other heart and ghost reactions, a sticker of that cute yellow duck being unbearably sad, and a few other new things. And it looks like, eventually, even the recipients of those messages will need Telegram Premium to see them. If you send a sad duck to a non-subscriber, they’ll get a prompt to subscribe.
There’s no word yet on how much Premium will cost, when (or even if) it will be rolled out more widely, or what other features might be included with the subscription. But a subscription like this has been talked about for a long time. Founder Pavel Durov said in late 2020 that in order to avoid selling out like WhatsApp or disappearing like so many other messaging apps, “Telegram will start generating revenue, starting next year.” He went on to say that Telegram “will add some new features for business groups or power users” that will come at a price.
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From what little we know so far, Telegram’s approach to paid features seems to follow Discord for monetizing messaging apps. Nitro costs $10 a month and gives power users more games to play: more emoji, better bandwidth for video and audio, improved badges and avatars , and more. Nitro isn’t something users need to use the service, but it’s popular enough to convince Discord that it’s a long-term business model.
Durov also promised in 2020 that all parts of Telegram that were free — and all parts dedicated to private messaging — would remain free. That’s the trick with messaging apps, really: the way companies make money is to find other things users can do in and with the app. As Telegram has expanded into livestreaming, chatbots, cryptocurrency , and more, it’s likely to continue to find ways to make money.
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However, with more than 500 million users on the platform, Telegram may only need to convince a small percentage to sign up to become the business Durov has always said he wants to become.
Source of information: theverge.com
