How does Telegram make money?
fpoi.orgLast update: September 1, 2023
Telegram is a non commercial project that in the past was financed entirely by donations from its co-founder, Pavel Durov, while it is currently looking for a sustainable business model. It currently does not profile users despite providing an advertising platform because it does not have to guarantee a profit for shareholders. Pavel Durov has outlined a strategy to make Telegram sustainable in this post.
FAQ: How are you going to make money out of this?
We believe in fast and secure messaging that is also 100% free.
Our founder and CEO Pavel Durov, who financed Telegram throughout most of its history, has outlined a strategy to make Telegram sustainable in this post.
Following this plan, Telegram has implemented sustainable forms of monetization that prioritize its users:
- In 2021, Telegram launched Sponsored Messages – minimalist, privacy-conscious advertisements that can appear in certain public channels.
- In 2022, Telegram launched a Premium subscription which users can purchase to both support the app and unlock additional exclusive features.
These revenue streams help us pay for infrastructure costs and developer salaries, however making profits will never be an end-goal for Telegram.
Learn more about subscriptions in the Telegram Premium FAQ.
"Every one of us is going to die eventually, but we as a species will stick around for a while. That’s why I think accumulating money, fame or power is irrelevant. Serving humanity is the only thing that really matters in the long run." Pavel Durov, 2019
"The beauty of Telegram Premium is that if just 2,5-3% of our users sign up for this subscription, Telegram will cover its costs, supported purely by its users." Pavel Durov, 2022
FAQ: What are your thoughts on internet privacy?
We think that the two most important components of Internet privacy should be:
- Protecting your private conversations from snooping third parties, such as officials, employers, etc.
- Protecting your personal data from third parties, such as marketers, advertisers, etc.
Telegram's aim is to create a truly free messenger, with a revolutionary privacy policy.
"Privacy is not for sale, and human rights should not be compromised out of fear or greed." Pavel Durov, 2018
Alternative analysis based on donations: Pavel Durov's assets are estimated between 2.7 and 3.4 billion dollars while the annual cost per Telegram user is estimated at ~ 0.36 $/user (500 million monthly active users or Monthly Active Users (MAU)). Assuming that Pavel Durov is willing to use up to 10%, 50% and 90% of his assets or 0.27-0.35, 1.35-1.7 and 2.43-3.06 billion dollars, Telegram has enough funds for the short-medium-long term (2-10-15 years). In particular, some calculations, as MAU varies, show the time horizon in the three cases 10%, 50% and 90% of the assets:
1) 400 million MAU: 144 million dollars budget ~ 1.9-2.4, 9.4-11.8, 16.9-21.3 years.
2) 800 million MAU: 288 million dollars budget ~ 0.9-1.2, 4.7-5.9, 8.4-10.6 years.
3) 1600 million MAU: 576 million dollars budget ~ 0.5-0.6, 2.3-3, 4.2-5.3 years.
4) 2400 million MAU: 720 million dollars budget ~ 0.3-0.4, 1.6-2, 2.8-3.5 years
In the event that Telegram should run out of funds, donations from users may become necessary to keep it active. In detail, some calculations, as MAU varies, show the value of the annual donation per user 360-72-36-3.6-1.8 dollars in the cases of 0.1%, 0.5%, 1%, 10% and 20% of donor users:
1) 400 million MAU: 144 million dollars budget ~ 0.4-2-4-40-80 million donor users.
2) 800 million MAU: 288 million dollars budget ~ 0.8-4-8-80-160 million donor users.
3) 1600 million MAU: 576 million dollars budget ~ 1.6-8-16-160-320 million donor users.
4) 2400 million MAU: 720 million dollars budget ~ 2.4-12-24-240-480 million donor users.
Note: the annual cost per user of Telegram decreases with the increase of MAU and consequently the reported estimates are conservative (0.36 $/user corresponds to 500 million MAU, in 2021 are expected 675 million MAU or 0.33 $/user).
Note: Telegram was supposed to become a non-profit foundation from 2021 according to The Open Network (TON) project. However, this project is officially abandoned due to disagreements with the US authorities.
Conclusion: there is no perfect communication service free of defects in design, implementation or financing. However, there are big differences between services whose aims are to respect the freedom of users and the community (Telegram, Signal, Element, Wire, etc.), and services whose aims are profit and mass control (Whatsapp, Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, etc.).
Bibliography
- What are the features of a secure and private communication service?
- How really secure and private is Telegram
- Telegram FAQ
- The Open Network (TON)
License
This document is released under the license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA.