Telegram appears to be gearing up for the launch of a paid subscription service called Telegram Premium. The folks over at Telegram Beta discovered a range of reactions, emoji's and stickers, that seem to be exclusive to the paid service.
It appears that free users will not be able to view these exclusive reactions, and will be prompted to sign up if they are sent to their chat windows.
Also Read: Telegram founder says over 70 million new users joined during Facebook outage
Currently there is no news as to what the cost of subscription would be, or when the service would launch. Users with access to Telegram's test servers can send each other certain stickers and reactions but that's the extent of what has been discovered.
In 2020, Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, told the press that the encrypted messaging service will, "begin to generate revenue," starting in 2021. He said that in order to keep ownership and not sell the company like WhatsApp, Telegram needed, "at least a few hundred million dollars per year."
Also Read: Telegram booms as Russia's digital landscape shrinks
He made it clear that, "for most of Telegram's history," Durov, "paid for the expenses of the company," from his personal savings. Durov said that the move will allow them to, "launch countless new features and welcome billions of new users."
The founder made it clear, that the features currently being offered for free, would remain free.
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