With WhatsApp it is always a topic and makes the rumor mill boil. The messenger service from the Zuckerberg empire should get advertising. To date, however, ads have not found their way into WhatsApp. It should look different at Telegram in the coming year: Like the Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov on his canal announces, advertising and paid functions should become part of the messenger.
Telegram with advertising and payment model
According to Durov, the paid content primarily affects business and premium users. There should be new functions here in the future, which should be paid for by them. The 36-year-old Russian left open which new functions are involved. However, premium stickers with “expressive functions” that can be monetized are possible. Durov not only wants to reinvest the money in the messenger, but also wants to give the sticker designers a partial profit.
Telegram is also planning an advertising platform that will be used in the “one-to-many” channels that are also known in this country. Media – as well as inside digital -, platforms or individuals can create a Telegram channel that users can subscribe to free of charge. Despite this, the advertising should be user-friendly and respect privacy, according to the company’s own statement.
And what about the “normal” Telegram users? They should see next to nothing of the changes, promises Durov. Everyday individual and group chats should remain free and ad-free – also in the future.
Popular WhatsApp alternative
Telegram now has 500 million active users around the globe and is a popular WhatsApp alternative. Pavel Durov founded the messenger service in 2013 and is said to have financed the company from his private assets – until today. Since more and more people are using Telegram, Durov justifies the coming paid content and the advertising platform with significantly more expenses due to greater reach. The step is necessary to keep the project going.
WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton sold their service to Facebook in 2013. That shouldn’t happen with Telegram, writes Durov.
