Tag: Telegram

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Telegram cuts subscription fee by more than half in India

Telegram has cut the monthly subscription fee for its premium tier by more than half in India, just months after introducing the offering as it attempts to aggressively cash in on a large user base in one of its biggest markets.

In a message to users in India on Saturday, Telegram said it was making the subscription available in the country at a discount. The monthly subscription now costs customers 179 Indian rupees ($2.2), down from 469 Indian rupees ($5.74) earlier. The app’s monthly subscription, called Telegram Premium, costs between $4.99 to $6 in every other market.

Users who have not received the message are also seeing the new price in the settings section of the app, they said and TechCrunch independently verified.

India is one of the largest markets for Telegram. The instant messaging app has amassed over 120 million monthly active users in the country, according to analytics firm data.ai. (An industry executive shared the figures with TechCrunch.) That figure makes the app the second most popular in its category in the country, only second to WhatsApp, which has courted over half a billion users in the South Asian market.

Telegram, which claims to have amassed over 700 million monthly active users globally, introduced the optional subscription offering in June this year in a move it hopes will improve its finances and continuing to support a free tier. Premium customers gain access to a wide-range of additional features such as the ability to follow up to 1,000 channels, send larger files (4GB) and faster download speeds.

The Dubai-headquartered firm joins a list of global tech firms that offer their services for lower cost in India. Apple’s music app charges $1.2 for the individual monthly plan in the country, whereas Netflix’s offerings starts at as low as $1.83 in the country.

Telegram cuts subscription fee by more than half in India by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

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Indian court orders Telegram to disclose details of channels violating copyright

An Indian court has ordered the messaging app Telegram to disclose the details of channels involved in a copyright infringement case in the country after Telegram argued, unsuccessfully, that doing so would violate its privacy policy with users.

This is not the first time that the app has come under fire because of its privacy policy. The app has gained some notoriety after critics said it enabled extremist groups to communicate and grow their numbers. And in Brazil earlier this year, a court ordered Apple and Google to remove Telegram from their app stores because of how it was being used to spread misinformation. (The latter ban was lifted in three days after Telegram complied with removal requests.)

But this latest case appears to be the first time that Telegram has been ordered by a court to disclose user data specifically related to copyright infringement anywhere, and the first time an Indian court has ordered any app to disclose data related to copyright infringement.

The Delhi High Court directed the Dubai-headquartered firm to submit the details, such as mobile numbers, IP addresses and email IDs, used for uploading infringing content while hearing a lawsuit filed by a teacher against the messaging app and people involved in sharing her copyrighted study material.

Telegram argued that disclosing user information would violate its privacy policy and the laws of Singapore, where it has located its physical servers for storing user data.

However, the court has responded to the argument and said that copyright owners couldn’t be left “completely remediless against the actual infringers” because Telegram has chosen to locate its servers in Singapore.

Telegram didn’t respond to a request for a comment on the order.

In the filing with the court, the complainant named Neetu Singh submitted a list of channels circulating her lectures and books on competitive exams. The channels were selling the content at discounted prices, the complainant said.

“If there are any further list[s] of infringing channels, the same [must] be also submitted to Telegram within one week. The data relating to the infringing channels and the details as to the devices/servers/networks on which they are created, their creators, operators including any phone numbers, IP addresses, email addresses, used for this purpose shall be disclosed by Telegram within a period of two weeks thereafter,” the 51-page order (PDF) said.

Telegram, which counts India as its largest market, amassed over 700 million users in June. At the time, it also launched a premium tier to monetise its growth against the likes of WhatsApp and Signal.

The public claims made by Telegram to prioritize user privacy helped it to gain the attention of many Indian users amid growing negative sentiment against WhatsApp due to the latter’s 2021 privacy policy update. However, the Meta-owned app has so far maintained its domination in the South Asian market.

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WhatsApp confirms some users have access to its new group discussions feature, WhatsApp Communities

WhatsApp Communities, the messaging app’s anticipated expansion aimed at supporting larger discussion groups, has now rolled out to additional users as it nears a public launch. The company declined to share specific details as to how many users or which countries were seeing the new feature as testing expands, but confirmed that more users have now been given early access.

First announced in April, WhatsApp Communities is a significant attempt to re-create the popularity of Facebook’s Groups within a messaging app environment. Created by the app’s end users, communities include features designed to add structure to larger group chats such as support for file sharing, 32-person group calls, emoji reactions, as well as admin tools and moderation controls, among other things.

In addition to capitalizing on WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption and users’ growing desire to network within private communities outside of larger social networks, WhatsApp Communities also present a challenge to other messaging apps that have grown in popularity, like Telegram. The feature could also appeal to clubs or organizations that today engage in group chats across private platforms and apps like Apple’s iMessage, GroupMe, Band, Remind and others.

What makes the feature appealing to larger groups is that not all the discussions take place in a single chat, which can get busy. Instead, only admins have the ability to share announcements to all Community members through the main announcement group, which can support thousands of users. Meanwhile, members can chat in smaller sub-groups that admins have created or approved.

Unlike Facebook Groups, WhatsApp Communities aren’t public or discoverable on the platform. Users have to be invited to a Community in order to join.

Image Credits: WhatsApp screenshot via WABetaInfo

According to reports by sites including Android Police and WABetaInfo, some WhatsApp beta testers were newly reporting they had gained the ability to create a community in the app. The reports noted that the ability to hide your phone number from other sub-group members wasn’t immediately supported — though it’s expected to be available when the feature publicly launches.

However, the reports claimed it was WhatsApp beta app users who were gaining access to this feature. This isn’t quite accurate, we understand. WhatsApp clarified to TechCrunch it’s the full feature that’s rolling out to a small number of users in a few countries at the moment.

The company declined to share which countries were among those with access but at least one report claims that Malaysia is among them.

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Telegram founder wants to explore web3-based auctions for custom usernames

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said Monday that he wants to integrate web3 into the messaging app.

Durov said on his Telegram channel that he was impressed by the TON project — an independent project not affiliated with Telegram — and how it is used for domain name/wallet auctions. He noted that Telegram can replicate TON’s auction on the app by putting custom usernames, group, and channel links on the auction on blockchain — just like NFTs.

Blockchain-based domain naming systems like the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) and Solana Bonafida naming service have found popularity with Unstoppable Domain recently reaching unicorn status. If Telegram goes ahead with it, the custom link NFTs could be another way to earn revenue apart from ads and subscription services.

The Telegram founder also mentioned that the company is “inclined to try out TON” as a blockchain of choice for Telegram given its familiarity with the technology. The chat app already allows users to send toncoin to each other directly within the app. So an NFT marketplace based on that seems like a probable next step for web3 integration.

But it also comes with notable blockchain stumbles, too. A few years ago, the chat app also abandoned a TON blockchain project. In 2018, the company explored plans for Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain project and a mega initial coin offering (ICO). The project gathered a lot of interest from various investors including Benchmark and Lightspeed Capital who put up $1.7 billion. However, after a legal fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Telegram was forced to abandon the project.

After Telegram stopped working on TON, various independent groups continued the development with Toncoin getting backing from Durov and winning the rights to ton.org website in 2021.

Here is Durov’s full message:

I’m really impressed by the success of the auction TON recently conducted for their domain/wallet names. Wallet.ton was sold for 215,250 Toncoin (~$260000) while casino.ton was sold for ~$244000.

If TON has been able to achieve these results, imagine how successful Telegram with its 700 million users could be if we put reserved @ usernames, group and channel links for auction. In addition to millions of catchy t.me addresses like @storm or @royal, all four-letter usernames could be made available for sale (@bank, @club, @game, @gift etc).

This would create a new platform where username holders could transfer them to interested parties in protected deals – with ownership secured on the blockchain via NFT-like smart-contracts. Other elements of the Telegram ecosystem, including channels, stickers or emoji, could later also become part of this marketplace.

When it comes to scalability and speed, TON probably has the best technology to host such decentralized sales. Our team can write bullet-proof smart contracts for TON (since it was us who invented its smart-contract language), so we are inclined to try out TON as the underlying blockchain for our future marketplace.

Let’s see if we can add a little bit of Web 3.0 to Telegram in the coming weeks.

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As Telegram grows in size, so does crypto traders’ dependence on the app

In the past few years, the crypto community has relied on social media sites like Twitter or messaging apps like Discord and Telegram to interact. But some say Telegram is the ultimate hub for communication and information — an imperative place to be in the crypto community.

“Telegram usage is the bedrock of the crypto community,” the founder of Telegram channel unfolded, who goes by the username nakamotocat, said to TechCrunch. “Projects have come and go, players have risen and fallen, but much of the discourse between various projects and market participants resides on Telegram, and that remains a constant.”

Nakamotocat began using Telegram in early 2017 after a friend recommended they sign up for it to meet and learn from like-minded people in crypto. About a year later, nakamotocat formed the “unfolded” channel to provide crypto market insights. Today, the channel has117,000 members.

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WhatsApp extends time limit to delete a message to 60 hours

WhatsApp now allows you to delete a message for up to two days and 12 hours (60 hours in total), so you can remove an accidentally sent chat even after hours. Previously, this limit was 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds — yep, there were seconds involved.

The company’s tweet about this feature just mentioned “little over two days,” but didn’t specify the 12-hour part.

WhatsApp first introduced the unsend feature back in 2017 with a time limit of just seven minutes but later increased it to one hour and eight minutes. Last year, WABetaInfo noted that the company might consider introducing a seven-day limit, but with this new update, it has chosen a rather odd time frame of two and a half days.

In comparison, rival chat app Telegram has no limit on deleting a message, so you can remove a chat years after sending it. Apple is moving in the other direction; after introducing the unsend feature for iOS 16 at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June, the company reduced the limit from 15 minutes to two minutes in the fourth version of the iOS 16 developer beta last month.

WhatsApp is also introducing new privacy features to its app including blocking screenshots for “view-once messages” and the ability to leave a group silently.

WhatsApp is adding new privacy options, including screenshot blocking and a stealth mode

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WhatsApp will now let you use any emoji as a reaction on WhatsApp

WhatsApp is rolling out a new update that will let you use any emoji as a reaction. The company first announced the emoji reaction feature in April, but started to make it available to everyone in May.  At that time, you could only react via six available emoji: thumbs up, heart, joined hands, tears of joy, mouth open, and crying face.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the new feature on Facebook saying “We’re rolling out the ability to use any emoji as a reaction on WhatsApp.” The company is making the extended emoji reaction feature available to everyone starting today, but in case you don’t see it in your app yet, you will get it in a few days.

To use any emoji for reaction, long press on a message, tap on the + button and pick an emoji through the full list. You’ll see the emoji you picked under the message.

Image Credits: WhatsApp

The new feature is just a fun visual addition that doesn’t limit you from using six preset emoji. The company is trying to one-up Telegram with this, given it allows a larger range of emoji reactions by default, but to unlock more, you have to buy its premium subscription launched last month.

Image Credits: Telegram

The emoji reaction feature is WhatsApp’s first big rollout in July after it launched features like Android to iPhone chat transfer and the ability to hide your last seen and profile picture from specific people.

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Crypto hackers are increasingly phishing for new bait on social media

As more people enter the web3 ecosystem, there are increasing opportunities for hackers to attack. And during the second quarter, there was a significant rise in crypto-focused phishing attacks across social media sites, according to a new report.

There were 290 recorded attacks during the second quarter, up 170% from 106 in the first quarter, according to a Web3 Security Q2 2022 report by CertiK, a blockchain and DeFi security-focused platform backed by Goldman Sachs and others. While there are many day-to-day minor phishing attacks (or attempts) on individuals in the space, the major attacks are classified as events that resulted in crypto losses of $100,000 or more, the company told TechCrunch.

“Social media affects phishing attacks by providing a centralized, single point of failure via which hackers can dupe users into following malicious links,” Ronghui Gu, CEO and co-founder at CertiK, said to TechCrunch. “This in turn leads to users being robbed of their assets.”

The second quarter was filled with “losses” and hacks across the web3 ecosystem — and many aren’t expecting it to slow down. Since the beginning of the year, over $2 billion has been lost to hacks and exploits — racking up an amount larger than the entirety of 2021 in half the time, the report stated.

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Instagram rolls out an account deletion option on iOS to comply with Apple’s new policy

You can now delete your Instagram directly from the mobile app. The Meta-owned social media app has now rolled out a new option that lets you opt to delete or deactivate your Instagram account on iOS in order to comply with Apple’s updated App Store Review Guidelines that now mandate all apps that offer account creation must also include account deletion within the app as well.

Until now, you had to log in to Instagram through a web browser on a desktop or mobile in order to delete your account. The company said it’s now introducing this option within its iOS app. Earlier you could deactivate the account through the app, but this doesn’t delete your data from Instagram’s servers. The app itself didn’t offer any information about the full deletion option, so many users may have simply deactivated their accounts instead of deleting them fully.

Image Credits: Instagram

Image Credits: Instagram

“We want to give people more ways to control their experience and time spent on Instagram. We’ve rolled out the option to delete your account in Settings on iOS, and you’ll still have the option to temporarily disable your account before choosing to delete it.” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.

If you proceed with account deletion on the app, you still have 30 days to stop Instagram from removing your account. This is in line with Apple’s guidelines as the company says it’s acceptable if account deletion takes time after the initiation. However, it also works the same as deactivation in the sense that it gives users a cooling-off period during which time they may reconsider whether they want to leave the app entirely. If they launch the app again during this time frame, their account will no longer be queued for deletion.

Image Credits: Instagram

In May, Apple had informed developers that it will enforce a policy to mandatory include account deletion methods in apps from June 30. The Cupertino-based company said apps that don’t comply with these rules might face delays in review when they submit updates.

“If your app supports account creation, you must also offer account deletion within the app. Apps may not require users to enter personal information to function, except when directly relevant to the core functionality of the app or required by law,” the company said in its guidelines.

The firm had mentioned that simply offering deactivating accounts won’t be enough. It specified that apps should offer “delete the entire account record, along with associated personal data. You may include additional options, but only offering to temporarily deactivate or disable an account is insufficient.”

As shown in the screenshot above, Instagram still highlights the deactivation option as the primary choice by using a big blue button that encourages users to click through. Meanwhile, the deletion option below that isn’t highlighted.

Other apps are also now coming into line with Apple’s new policy. Meta-owned WhatsApp and Signal offer account deletion within their apps, but Spotify — a frequent Apple critic and antitrust agitator —  only offers a link to an account deletion page. Telegram also doesn’t offer an option to delete an account. TechCrunch has reached out to these companies to ask if they plan to update their apps to comply with Apple’s policy and will update if we hear back.

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Telegram tops 700 million users, launches premium tier

Telegram has amassed over 700 million monthly active users and is rolling out a premium tier with additional features as the instant messaging platform pushes to monetize a portion of its large user base. The firm did not disclose how much it is charging for the premium tier, but the monthly subscription appears to be priced in the range of $5 to $6.

The premium tier adds a range of additional and improved features to the messaging app, which topped 500 million monthly active users in January 2021. Telegram Premium enables users to send files as large as 4GB (up from 2GB) and supports faster downloads, for instance, Telegram said.

Paying customers will also be able to follow up to 1,000 channels, up from 500 offered to free users, and create up to 20 chat folders with as many as 200 chats each. Telegram Premium users will also be able to add up to four accounts in the app and pin up to 10 chats.

The move is Dubai-headquartered firm’s attempt to keep its development “driven primarily by its users, not advertisers,” it said. It’s also the first time an instant messaging app with hundreds of millions of users has rolled out a premium tier. Signal, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Apple’s Messages and Google’s Messages, some of Telegram’s top rivals, don’t offer a premium tier.

Some analysts had earlier hoped that Telegram would be able to monetize the platform through its blockchain token project. But after several delays and regulatory troubles, Telegram said in 2020 that it had abandoned the project and offered to return $1.2 billion it had raised from investors.

In March 2021, Telegram raised over $1 billion from a number of investors including Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners by selling 5-year pre-IPO convertible bonds.

“Today is an important day in the history of Telegram – marking not only a new milestone, but also the beginning of Telegram’s sustainable monetization,” the firm said in a blog post Sunday.

Telegram founder and chief executive Pavel Durov said earlier this month the move to launch a premium tier was intended to respond to user demand for additional storage/bandwidth.

“After giving it some thought, we realized that the only way to let our most demanding fans get more while keeping our existing features free is to make those raised limits a paid option,” he said.

In India, the premium version is priced at $6 for iPhone users. Alex Barredo, a Spain-based technology commentator, reported seeing €5.49 ($5.77) as the monthly cost. A Telegram spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Premium users will also have the ability to convert voice messages into texts, gain access to exclusive stickers and reactions and use animated pictures as their profile photos. Paying customers will also be able to avoid seeing ads on the app. (In some markets, sponsored messages are shown in large, public one-to-many channels.)

Durov has pledged to keep a number of core features in the app free to users and also continue to build new features for the non-paying audience.

On Sunday, the firm said it is rolling out a feature, called join requests, to enable all users to join a public group without the need for an invite link. Another new feature aimed at free users will make it possible for verified groups and channels to show their badge at the top of the chat. The new update also supports rendering of animations at120 frames per second for new iPads and iPhones.

“This update includes over 100 fixes and optimizations to the mobile and desktop apps – eliminating bugs, improving speed, and expanding minor features,” Telegram said.