Telegram to Introduce Premium Features, Including Rumoured Tinder Collaboration

Instant messaging service Telegram will begin to introduce premium features in 2021, as the company looks to turn profitable. It currently has almost 500 million users but has reached the point where it needs to start making money. 

Founder Pavel Durov, who is also part of the founding team behind Russian social networking site VK, took a shot at WhatsApp in his personal update, stating that Telegram will remain independent.

“The world needs…a place where users are respected and high-quality service is ensured. Telegram must continue to serve the world as an example of a tech company that strives for perfection and integrity. 

“And, as the sad examples of our predecessors show, that is impossible if you become part of a corporation.”

All of the current features that are free to use will remain so, but a number of new updates are due to be added that will require consumers to upgrade to a premium membership.

Reports from Spain are suggesting that one of these new features could be a collaboration with Tinder. Technology news website Tecnonucleous believes that users over the age of 18 could be aided in their search for a future partner by joining streams based on their location and shared interests.

No official word has come from Tinder or Telegram, and bigger news services remain reluctant to report on the story at this stage.

Telegram did release a ‘People Nearby’ update in June 2019 which allowed users to find out who was using the app within a small radius. The company said the feature was for exchanging information face-to-face, meeting new friends, or setting up dates.

Durov also added that adverts would be introduced to the service, but insisted that all one-to-one messaging streams and group chats would not include any promotional materials.

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