The Telegram messaging app, utilized by a variety of Russian and Ukrainian officers through the struggle, solely wants a small variety of paid subscribers to cowl its prices, founder Pavel Durov mentioned on Tuesday.

Telegram Premium service customers will get the next restrict for chats, media and file uploads, Durov mentioned on June 10, noting that paid subscriptions would make sure the app stays funded primarily by customers and never advertisers.

“The beauty of Telegram Premium is that if just 2.5 percent to 3 percent of our users sign up for this subscription, Telegram will cover its costs, supported purely by its users,” he mentioned on Telegram on Tuesday.

“This will herald a new, user-centric era in the history of social media services.”

Telegram and Signal have signed up extra messaging customers as a consequence of rising considerations about privateness on bigger rival WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms. Telegram has 500 million month-to-month energetic customers and is among the 10 most downloaded apps on the planet, in response to its web site.

Telegram Premium — the paid subscription that brings further options to the messaging app — has began rolling out to customers. The premium tier allows customers to entry as much as 4GB file uploads, quicker downloads, and the power to transform voice messages into textual content. Alongside the launch of the paid subscription, Telegram has launched a listing of enhancements for all customers on the platform, together with those who usually are not buying the premium tier. The Dubai-based firm has additionally introduced that now it has over 700 million month-to-month energetic customers.

In India, Telegram Premium is out there at Rs. 469 a month on the iPhone. Pricing of the premium subscription on Android is but to be introduced. It is probably going that the corporate would go along with a country-wise phased method.