The paid tier gives its users access to extra features for a subscription amount of $4.99 / month. All the extra features have been outlined in a post on Telegram’s blog. While the premium tier does give its subscribers some extraordinary perks, the free users will continue to experience all the features that already exist, while also being given more updates regularly. Most users were worried that the messaging app might turn the already free features into paid features, while also stopping regular updates, which Telegram was quite famous for. The worry was caused because other popular apps, cough Twitter and their Undo Button cough, have put much-needed features that should’ve been on the platform in the first place behind a paywall. But now you can put those worries to rest because Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s views on the platform’s free tier haven’t changed one bit. In line with what he had said previously, the CEO assured its free user base that the premium features will not impact the experience they had before the launch. Even the users who haven’t subscribed for the premium tier can benefit from the premium tier. An example of this is given by Pavel Duro himself: the non-subscribers will be able to view extra-large documents, media, and stickers sent by Premium users. They will also be able to tap and add Premium reactions already pinned to a message to react in the same way. So, the free users will probably not feel like they’re missing out on much.
So What Is The Telegram premium Experience?
The premium users of Telegram will get double the limits imposed on standard users, 4 GB file uploads, faster downloads, exclusive stickers and reactions, improved chat management – and a whole lot more. Listed below are the detailed benefits the Premium Users will be experiencing.
Uploads Up To 4 GBDownloads Are Faster Limits DoubledConvert From Voice To TextAdditional Unique StickersReactions That Are UniqueManage And Organize ChatsAnimated Profile PicturesProfile Badges For Premium UsersPremium App IconsNo Ads
Uploads Up To 4 GB
Telegram users have always had the option of uploading up to 2 GB worth of files via the platform. This is more than enough as it is, but it doubles for premium users. Paid subscribers can upload files that are up to 4 GB. That is enough space for 4 hours of 1080p video or 18 days of high-quality audio.
Downloads Are Faster:
The Premium Subscribers can download files faster than ever! And everything can be accessed in their unlimited cloud storage as fast as their network.
Limits Doubled:
Almost every limit in the app is doubled for premium subscribers. They can follow up to 1000 channels, create up to 20 chat folders with up to 200 chats each, add a fourth account to any Telegram app, pin 10 chats in the main list and save up to 10 favorite stickers. They can also add longer bios and include links in them. What makes it even more special is that the premium users can reserve up to 20 public t.me links. That means when they make any group or channel they can stand out with a concise link.
Convert From Voice to Text:
The title is pretty self-explanatory. If Premium users feel like they would rather read than listen, then they can use this option. For example, imagine you are in a quiet place and your friend sends you a voice message. But you, unfortunately, don’t have your earphones, wouldn’t you hope that you could read it rather than listen to it? This feature is just for that. In addition, you can also rate the transcripts to make them better in the future.
Additional Unique Stickers:
The Premium subscribers have access to dozens of stickers that have impressive full-screen animations. These stickers can be sent to any chat by Premium users to add extra emotion and expressive effects that will be visible to all users. This premium sticker collection will be updated monthly by Telegram artists.
Reactions That Are Unique:
Premium users can also react uniquely to messages sent by others. If you feel like what that person just said was pure clownery then go ahead and show it!
Manage And Organize Chats:
The Premium subscribers can organize their chat list. Don’t get it? Imagine you open the app and you want to text someone who is from work but your chat list is filled with texts from your friends and family that you have to search for the particular person. You won’t have to worry about that anymore because now you can organize your chat list. After organizing the chat list, you can just tap on the list in which the person you want to text will be present.
Animated Profile Pictures:
I know what you are thinking, “Can’t Non-Subscribers already keep animated profile pictures on Telegram?” The answer is, yes they can. But you can only see the animated video once you click on the person’s profile. Whereas for premium users, the animated profile picture will always stay animated i.e you can see their profile picture moving while texting them, while they are on the chat list, and when you go look at their profile. So if you have a profile video of yourself that you think is really cool then go ahead and put it as your profile picture because the people who text you can always see it. Anywhere, anytime!
Profile Badges For Premium Users:
All premium users will get a special badge that looks like a star, next to their name. This will appear in the chat list, chat headers, and member lists in groups. This shows that they are helping Telegram and it’s Telegram’s way of showing that they appreciate the help. It also shows that the premium user is part of the club that receives exclusive features.
Premium App Icons:
The Premium SUbscribers will get premium icons that they can use on their desktop or home screen to better match their personality or wallpaper. The icons available for the premium users so far are pretty adorable and cool looking. The available options are a premium star, night sky, and turbo-plane.
No Ads:
There are countries where sponsored ads can be seen on public channels. But these ads are always minimalist and privacy-conscious. Even though that is the case, Premium Telegram users will no longer see those minimalist ads.
More To Come:
For now, these are all the benefits the premium subscribers of telegram will be benefiting from. More features will be rolled out soon.
Telegram Improvements For Everyone:
Premium subscribers are not the only ones who are getting additional benefits. With the new updates that Telegram has rolled out, non-subscribers are also getting a few improvements.
Join RequestsVerification Badges in ChatsBetter BotsImproved Chat PreviewsSave To Gallery
Join Requests:
Public groups can now enable join requests. This allows group admins to review the profile of people who want to join the public domain. Thus, if they feel that someone seems shady they can go ahead and reject the request. Admins can also reach out to users who have requested to join, have a chat with them, cover the rules of the group, make sure they’re a good fit, or even plan a welcome party. When an admin reaches out, Telegram lets the user know they’re reaching out as a group admin. Also, users who want to join the group can tap on the ‘request to join’ option and join the group once the admin of the group accepts the request.
Verification Badges in Chats:
Channels made from accounts like Bloomberg, Britannica, Literary Hub, or Goodreads, will have official badges assigned to them. Other channels that have been verified on at least 2 social networking sites (eg. Instagram and Twitter) will also be given a verification badge.
Better Bots:
There are various bots in Telegram created by numerous developers. These bots will help you take quizzes, accept payments, and even replace links. But now, the developers can add pictures to the bots so that the users can see a picture when they search for the function of the bot.
Improved Chat Previews:
This is a feature that most IOS users might already know off. This feature lets your preview the whole chat from your chat list without letting the sender know that you’ve read the text. New buttons have been added that let you mark the chat as read, delete the chat, pin the chat, and mute/unmute the chat.
Save To Gallery:
Android users now have the option of saving media directly to their gallery. They can change this setting in individual chats i.e. you can enable and disable the option of automatically saving to the gallery for separate groups, chats, etc.
Updates Roll Out:
All these updates are being rolled out gradually. And in regards to Telegram’s Premium tier, while the features seem rewarding to subscribers, they wouldn’t seem as tempting for regular users. It is yet to be seen who will and who will not use the premium features and if it will create an impact on the messaging platform itself.
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