Explained: Know all about Telegram Premium subscription – Times of India

Cloud-based encrypted instant messaging platform Telegram was launched in 2013. According to a report by Forbes, the service was co-founded by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai. It has turned out to be a popular messaging platform in recent years, competing with other services like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Telegram, which was once a free service, in an attempt to monetise the platform, has recently announced a premium subscription service.
The company recently announced the rollout of the Telegram Premium subscription. The company has claimed that Telegram Premium will help in the app’s success and will make it more user-friendly as it will offer exclusive features to users who will support the platform.
Meanwhile, Telegram won’t turn into a paid app entirely as the existing features will be available for all users. However, the Premium subscription will add some additional features.
Telegram Premium: Price and availability
The Telegram Premium subscription is now available at Rs 460 per month and it expands the limits of the customers to use several additional features that are not available to non-premium users. As announced in a blog post by the messaging platform, the subscriptions are available for users all around the world. However, the new Premium plans will be available for both Android and iOS only on the latest version of the app.
Additional features in Telegram Premium
According to the company, new features will be first introduced to Telegram Premium users before being made available to regular users. Some features will be exclusive only to Premium users.
Larger and faster file-sharing support
Regular users can presently send and receive files up to 2GB, but Premium users’ limit will be doubled to 4GB. The increased size will help users to upload large files like 4K videos or Full HD movies and music albums. However, it is important to note that regular users can easily download these large files but can’t upload them. Moreover, Telegram Premium users will be able to achieve faster upload and download speeds compared to non-premium users.
Doubled group limits and other features
Currently, regular users can join up to 500 groups and channels and save up to 200 preferred GIFs. Telegram Premium users will be able to join up to 1000 groups and will be able to 400 GIFs of their choosing. Premium users can also create up to 20 chat folders with up to 200 chats each.
Other extra features
Telegram Premium offers other important features that include — integrated audio-to-text message converter, unique stickers and reactions, an updated chat manager that can create custom folders, animated profile pictures, special app icons, no ads in public channels and a premium profile badge for paying customers.
New improvements for regular users
Telegram has also announced that it will “keep implementing free features” for regular users. In the regular version of the service, public groups can enable join requests and admins will be able to review new members before approving them. The messaging app will also allow verification badges for non-premium users that are confirmed sources. The company has also promised to add better bots and has included 100 fixes and optimisations for smoother animations and better audio and video quality.
For Android, the new update will also improve chat previews and enable the automatic saving to gallery feature. The new update will also improve external sharing on iOS and animated profile picture creator on macOS.