By
Steve Muchoki
April 16th, 2024
Monetization will be driven by additional functions for business teams and users with expanded needs. Some of the functions will be data-greedy, that’s why they will require additional fees.
Telegram is nearing the mark of 500 million active users. In this regard, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has revealed plans of the messenger for 2021. In his post, Durov spoke on who and how is going to pay for this growth, what are the short-term prospects of Telegram, and what upgrades the messenger will see as soon as 2021. To start with, Durov discussed Telegram monetization.
What Changes Will Telegram Users Face in 2021 and What Monetization Will Bring?
Telegram is rapidly expanding, its user base is growing, and this has an impact on Telegram expenses.
Durov wrote:
“As Telegram is approaching 500 million active users, many ask: who is going to pay for this growth? The more users you have, the higher are expenses for services and traffic. Meanwhile, the support of projects like ours costs hundreds of millions of dollars per year. During the major part of Telegram history, I paid the company’s bills myself. But with the current growth rates, Telegram is nearing billions of active users, which means corresponding expenses. When a tech company reaches this scale, it has only two options: to start earning money or be acquired by a larger company.”
According to Durov, he is not going to sell the company. Instead, Telegram will start monetization that is expected to not only bring money but also benefit users. Monetization will be driven by additional functions for business teams and users with expanded needs. Some of the functions will be data-greedy, that’s why they will require additional fees. For regular users, Telegram will remain free.
Further, Durov said all Telegram messaging services will be free from ads. As he explained, communication should not be interrupted by an advertisement. However, Telegram will later launch its own advertisement platform that will provide security and convenience for users and cover the company’s traffic expenses.
In conclusion, Pavel Durov pledged that Telegram would stay independent and loyal to its core values. Besides, all the changes will be soft, therefore, most users will hardly notice them.
Telegram Recent Outages
Last week, Telegram suffered outages across many countries. Users worldwide complained about connection issues while accessing the platform. The first complaints appeared at around 1 p.m. GMT. 66% of them related to problems with the server connection. 30% pointed out issues while sending or receiving messages. 3% of users said they had trouble when logging into the app.
It took about an hour to find the source of the issues and solve the problem.
This tweet was not connected properly to the thread: https://t.co/c7enNdgrNT All issues have been fixed 40 minutes ago, sorry for the inconvenience.
— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) December 16, 2020
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