New Delhi: In what seems like Telegram is testing the waters for ways to generate revenue, the encrypted messaging app has begun beta testing of the iOS app with more stickers and more emojis that will be available for Telegram Premium subscribers. The paid version of Telegram for iPhone users with more emojis and stickers is available in version 8.7.2 and has been first spotted by Android Police.
Currently, it is not available for Telegram free users and those with access to Telegram’s TestFlight builds and its Test Server are able to send each other the new emojis that include exploding heart and flying ghost reactions and stickers including a blobby yellow duck. If non-premium users are sent these, they would get a prompt to sign up. Even premium stickers that appear in a conversation thread are blocked from view to free users, replaced by the same call to action, the Android Police report added.
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According to reports, Telegram is likely to bring more features than just these new emojis and reactions to the premium users.
Meanwhile, earlier in 2021, the encrypted messaging app had announced that it was working to launch Sponsored Messages in all regions, including India. Sponsored Messages is a tool that allows anyone to promote their channels and bots.
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Sponsored Messages on Telegram are shown only in large public one-to-many channels with more than 1000 members and are based solely on the topic of the public channels in which they are shown. Chats on Telegram will be ad-free -- Sponsored Messages can't appear in users' chat list, private chats or groups.