Telegram is preparing its premium service

#Telegram is working on a subscription plan called "Telegram Premium" ?

?? With "Telegram Premium" you can unlock premium stickers, additional reactions and more. pic.twitter.com/8X9YL89p3B

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) May 1, 2022

You can enjoy Telegram for free now, but it might soon change after some tech experts discovered the Telegram Premium’s existence in the Telegram Beta iOS Version 8.7.2.

Alessandro Paluzzi, a mobile developer and reverse engineer leaking hidden features being prepared by apps, showed some screenshots of a page where users will be notified about the premium subscription of the app. According to the screenshot shared, the prompt will appear when the users try to access the “additional” reaction emoji and stickers. The said items will be marked with a Telegram Premium star badge, indicating exclusive access for them. According to Paluzzi, the badge will extend to the names of the users in the chat list and to the user’s profile. 

?? The premium badge will be displayed in the user's profile as well pic.twitter.com/ED7a80FIEc

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) May 1, 2022

Meanwhile, the screenshots taken from the Telegram Beta Channel show that the images of exclusive emojis and stickers will be blocked to the view of the free users when a premium user sends them. Instead of an emoji/sticker image, the message will be replaced by a prompt encouraging the use of the paid service to free users.

Another leak on Reddit came recently that an avatar creator is coming, albeit it is not mentioned clearly if it will be part of the Telegram Premium. The new feature will let users create their own avatars, with the choice to use an emoji, sticker, or monogram. Apart from choosing what avatar to use, it will also allow the editing of the background. There will be a wide range of choices, from plain gradients to gradients with patterns. The bottom-left part of the screen will show a preview of your avatar.

As of now, the said details from the beta version of the Telegram are the only things that could be covered by the premium subscription of the app. It is still not clear if it will also affect the basic functions of the messaging service, but in case it does, it will certainly be a big deal for those who rely on it greatly. There are still no comments from the company about its clear plans for the premium service. Still, everyone certainly hopes the changes in the future won’t affect the app’s primary purpose of connecting people for free.