Telegram rolls out $6.90/month premium subscription tier with new features

Telegram is getting an upgrade - well, of sorts. The messaging app has launched its paid tier Telegram Premium following an announcement earlier this month, and it will be priced at US$4.99 per month.

The subscription offers access to extra features, including faster downloads, a larger maximum file upload size of 4GB (as compared to the standard 2GB), and a speech-to-text function for voice messages. Subscribers will also get double the limits imposed on standard users, which means they are able to join up to 1,000 channels, create 20 chat folders with 200 chats each, save up to 10 stickers, pin up to 10 chats, and add a total of four accounts to Telegram.

As detailed in a post on Telegram's blog, other notable perks include a library of premium stickers with full-screen animations, emoji reactions, and animated profile pictures, chat management tools that allow you to change your default chat folder, and longer bios with links added.

The new model is in line with Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's views, and thus won't impact the experience for non-subscribers. Essentially, they are still able to enjoy the existing free features, and should be able to download larger files uploaded by subscribers or view the premium reactions or emojis that have been sent across.

Telegram won't stop developing features for free users, either. The latest updates displays verified badges in chat and gives public groups the ability to enable join requests, and Durov promises that more is in the pipeline for the freenium tier.

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This article was first published in Geek Culture.