Apple may force Telegram to remove paid posts from its iOS app – Times of India

Telegram added a paid “Premium” subscription to its instant messaging platform in June this year. The new Telegram Premium tier offers some extra features that aren’t available for non-paid users. To further monetise the messaging platform, the company recently started testing paid posts for select channels on Telegram’s Android and iOS apps. The paid posts feature allows creators to charge money for users to view specific messages and a few Telegram channels have already received access to this feature. Telegram is yet to officially announce paid posts which hints that this feature is still being tested. Now, Apple has reportedly asked Telegram to remove the paid post feature from its iOS app.
Telegram’s paid posts can bypass Apple’s App Store policy
Third-party apps selling in-app content using alternative payment systems is against Apple’s App Store guidelines. However, Telegram is using its own payment system for paid posts on iOS which doesn’t comply with Apple’s App Store policy.
As per a report by 9to5Mac, a Telegram spokesperson has said that the company is not testing a paid posts feature. He also mentioned that some creators are using third-party donations and pay-to-view bots to create these paid posts.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has also shared a public message mentioning that the platform has never charged users for transactions made using these bots.
App Store in-app purchase policy for third-party apps
Apart from the apps in the “reading” category, developers offering paid content have to use Apple’s in-app purchases for these transactions. However, Telegram is not eligible to use its own payment system.
It is to be noted that in South Korea, the Telecommunications Business Act in South Korea mandates that apps distributed by app market operators in South Korea be allowed to offer an alternative payment processing option within their apps. This means that iPhone users in the country can use third-party apps for making payments for in-app purchases.
Telegram might be trying to bypass the App Store’s in-app purchases system to avoid paying the 30% commission to Apple on each sale. For example, the Telegram Premium monthly subscription costs less when bought from the Telegram website, while the same subscription will cost you more if you pay for it through the iOS app.
App Store’s strict rules have been criticised by Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. Apple has also rejected updates for Telegram’s iOS app on multiple occasions. The tech giant cited that Telegram’s iOS update violated some of the company’s guidelines like replicating the iOS emoji design.