Telegram, a messaging app, will introduce a paid membership option for its users this month, according to creator Pavel Durov.
Telegram Premium users will have a larger restriction for conversations, media, and file uploads, according to a blog post by Durov.
“The only way to provide our most ardent users more while keeping our present services free is to charge for those increased restrictions,” he explained.
Following privacy issues with bigger rival WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms Inc, the software, as well as communications tool Signal, has witnessed a surge in users. According to its website, Telegram boasts 500 million monthly active users and is one of the top ten most downloaded programs worldwide.
The decision to provide a premium membership, according to Durov, was made to ensure that Telegram is supported largely by its users rather than advertisements.
