Telegram ‘Premium’ subscription adds exclusive reactions and stickers, but the cost is unclear

Ben Schoon | May 2 2022 - 7:46 am PT

The popular messaging app Telegram is working on a Premium subscription that adds new exclusive reactions and stickers, but is only available on iOS for the time being.

Highlighted on an unofficial Telegram Beta channel, the latest iOS beta version (8.7.2) of Telegram has revealed the first evidence of “Telegram Premium,” which seems to be primarily focused on expanded reactions and stickers that aren’t available in the app’s free format.

Reactions from Telegram users on the subscription were largely negative, as is expected.

While there’s no indication currently as to how much “Telegram Premium” will cost, there are a few hints as to how the subscription will work. In a quick demo as pictured below, reactions are similar to the bigger emoji that Telegram introduced in recent months, but with options that Telegram hasn’t made available to free users. When clicking on a sticker sent by someone using the subscription, someone who isn’t subscribed cannot see the reaction/sticker, and instead just sees a prompt to purchase the subscription model.

We were also able to access Telegram’s Premium reactions, as pictured below.

Still, there’s a lot we don’t know about this feature. The monthly cost is unclear, and it’s unknown what other features will be available beyond just new stickers and reactions.

If one Redditor is to be believed, we’ll also see a special avatar creator at least in the macOS version of Telegram, as the folks over at Android Police highlighted. It’s unclear, though, if that feature will be a part of the Premium subscription.