Telegram founder Pavel Durov has stated that the social media company only needs a few paid subscribers to cover the costs for the messaging application.
“The beauty of Telegram Premium is that if only 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent of our users sign up for this subscription, Telegram will cover its costs, supported purely by its users. This will herald a new, user-centric era in the history of social media services,” Durov explained on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, Telegram announced plans to introduce a paid subscription for its users, giving users who opt for Telegram Premium a higher limit for chats, media and file uploads.
“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. That’s why this month we will introduce Telegram Premium, a subscription plan that allows anyone to get additional features, speed and resources. It will allow users to support Telegram and join the club that receives new features first,” Durov noted in his address on June 10.
Free users will also enjoy some of the benefits that comes with using Telegram Premium, including the ability to view extra-large documents, media and stickers sent by Premium users, and the ability to add Premium reactions that are already pinned to a message to react in the same way.