Telegram is launching a premium subscription level.
Pavel Durov, the chief executive of the messaging app announced that “after it giving it thought” users - which boasts more than 500 million worldwide - will be able to fork out money for additional features.
He said: “After giving it some thought, we realised 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. That's why this month we will introduce Telegram Premium, a subscription plan that allows anyone to acquire additional features, speed and resources."
They app has no plans to remove current features from users opting to keep using the free version.
According to Pavel, Users on the complimentary plan will be able to “enjoy some of [Telegram Premium's] benefits: for example, they will be able to view extra-large documents, media and stickers sent by Premium users, or tap to add Premium reactions already pinned to a message to react in the same way."
The paid-for-plan is expected to drop at the end of the month but no word has been given about the cost of the new tier.
Previously, Telegram has funded its operations by seeking external funding, such as raising more than $1 billion in debt fundraising in 2021, and has declared its interest in moving away from an ad-based funding model.
Pavel said: “I believe that Telegram should be funded primarily by its users, not advertisers.”
