Nine years with Telegram: from the idea of a “free messenger” to paid subscriptions

Publication date: 18 Aug 2022

Telegram messenger turned nine years old on 14 August 2022.  The first official client of Telegram for iOS, developed by Pavel Durov’s company Digital Fortress, became available on AppStope on 14 August 2013. More than 1 million users installed the app in the first year.

• As a reminder, in 2022, amid the banning of Facebook and Instagram (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist in Russia), Telegram’s audience grew 66% in six months, from 25 million in January to 41.5 million per day in July.

Since then, Telegram has been constantly updated and improved: nicknames and stickers, circle videos, as well as the ability to edit and delete your messages were introduced.

In 2018 (and until 2020), Telegram was blocked at the request of Roskomnadzor, leading to the popularity of VPNs in Russia.

In 2021, monetization of the messenger began: in November, Telegram’s advertising platform was launched.

In June 2022, a paid premium subscription to Telegram appeared. On 12 August, an update was released that allows:

• limit or completely prohibit sending audio and video messages (“circles”).  You can choose restrictions for all or for specific users in the settings, moreover, you can also set exceptions for groups of contacts;
• create your own sets of animated emoji: they can be added to the text of messages, as photo and video captions;
• receive (or send) Telegram Premium as a gift: subscription for 3, 6, or 12 months (for $12, $20, and $36 respectively). Usually, the regular price is 299 roubles (about $5) per month.

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