Telegram Monetization, Explained
Durov's official announcement: https://t.me/durov/142
Since 2013, Telegram has operated solely on the private savings of its founder, Pavel Durov. As Telegram's growth continues – becoming the most-downloaded app in the world in 2021 with over 500M users – that will become impossible to continue doing.
As such, keeping with its 'F*** Big Tech' ways, Telegram will be using a monetization model that relies mostly on paid services and subscriptions, as well as non-targeted ads in large channels. Unlike WhatsApp, Snapchat, or basically every company to walk the same path, they've opted for a model that pays the bills without introducing the cancer that is corporate models and executives.