Telegram Reduces Premium Version Subscription Fee in India, Aims to Cash-In on Large User Base in the Country

Inno Flores, Tech Times 03 October 2022, 01:10 am

Telegram Premium has reduced its monthly subscription fee by more than half of its base price, as reported first by TechCrunch. The discount will be exclusively available in India.

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This illustration picture taken on April 6, 2018 in Moscow shows the Telegram messenger application displayed on the screen of a smartphone. - Russia's telecoms watchdog on March 6, 2018 asked a Moscow court to block the popular messaging app Telegram, after a deadline for it to hand over encryption keys to security services expired.

From its original subscription of 469 Indian rupees or $5.74, the discounted price is now 179 Indian rupees or $2.2. Other countries will be maintaining their original price between $4.99 to $6, as per a report from Mint.

Indian users who did not receive any notification or announcement regarding the discount do not have to worry as it will still be available for them and can be viewed in the settings section of the application.

India is a big part of the platform as it is one of their largest markets. According to the report, there are over 120 million monthly active users in the country. These statistics make the platform the second most popular in the messaging category. WhatsApp has been in the top spot, which has half a billion users in the country.

Because of this, the platform aims to cash in fastly and attract new subscribers on a large user base hence the sudden discount exclusive to the country based on The Express Tribune's report.

Competitors' Take

Aside from Telegram, other global tech firms have also lowered their subscription rates in the country because of the same reason. Apple Music only charges its Indian subscribers $1.2 for the individual monthly plan, while Netflix's subscription fees start only at $1.83.

Also Read: Telegram Officially Rolls Out Its Paid Feature, What to Expect

Telegram Premium

The premium tier of the platform just recently rolled out last June. Through this, users will be able to join 1,000 channels, create 20 chat folders that can accommodate 200 chats per folder, pin up to chats, and can add up to four accounts on one device.

Adding to this is the much bigger maximum file upload size of 4GB, faster downloads, and exclusive access to the library of stickers, emojis, reactions, and animated profile photos that Premium subscribers can only attain.

As per the company's Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov, all users can still enjoy the application for free despite having the premium tier, as it will not affect the experience of the non-subscribers.

Telegram is one of the first instant messaging applications, which has millions of users, that have created paid features since the platform's other competitors still don't have this tier, like Facebook Messenger, Apple iMessage, and WhatsApp.

Alongside the launch of these new paid features, the platform has recently improved its login flow as Telegram will no be sending login codes through the users' email addresses to tighten its security. This will be implemented for users who simultaneously log in and out of the platform.

This article is owned by TechTimes

Writen by Inno Flores