All the features that are currently free will stay free. Most users will hardly notice any change. Thanks to our current scale, we will be able to do it in a non-intrusive way. We will do it in accordance with our values and the pledges we have made over the last 7 years.

In order to make points 1 and 2 possible, Telegram will begin to generate revenue, starting next year. There’s much more we can – and will – bring to the world.

In the process, Telegram changed the way people communicate in several aspects – encryption, functionality, simplicity, design, speed. We began developing our apps for our personal use over 8 years ago and have come a long way since then. Telegram is here to stay for a long time. And, as the sad examples of our predecessors show, that is impossible if you become part of a corporation. Telegram must continue to serve the world as an example of a tech company that strives for perfection and integrity. The world needs Telegram to stay independent as a place where users are respected and high-quality service is ensured. We are not going to sell the company like the founders of Whatsapp. Hence the question – which path will Telegram take? I’d like to make a few points to clarify our plan: 1. When a tech project reaches this scale, typically there are two options – start earning money to cover the costs, or sell the company. However, with its current growth Telegram is on track to reach billions of users and to require appropriate funding. For most of Telegram’s history, I paid for the expenses of the company from my personal savings. A project of our size needs at least a few hundred million dollars per year to keep going. As Telegram approaches 500 million active users, many of you are asking the question – who is going to pay to support this growth? After all, more users mean more expenses for traffic and servers.

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