5 ms·

Ask HN: How does Telegram make money?

7 points by 13415 2y ago

I've never used it and just learned that you can store arbitrary files there. They also store videos. Storage is quite expensive and I've heard that Youtube has troubles making money. So how does Telegram make enough money to support unlimited file storage?

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
TheBigDuck234 2y ago
[dead]
pabs4U 2y ago
I suppose just like any other open source company etc…. By fund raising or Donations.
- vik0 2y ago
  >open source company A huge misconception. Telegram was never, is not currently, and will never be entirely open source You're either (entirely) open source, or you're not. Telegram is not
markx2 2y ago
Ask an investor? Matt Mullenweg is one.
- dotcoma 2y ago
  How is Matt Mullenweg tied to Telegram ??
  - markx2 2y ago
    He is an investor, so presumably was sold on how they make money? https://audrey.co https://audrey.co
misterioss 2y ago
Selling the ads. Also cooperation with Russian government
- ivanmontillam 2y ago
  By that logic, why would have Pavel Durov fled Russia then? He'd have kept VKontakte and never done Telegram then.
  - KomoD 2y ago
    Well they are cooperating with them, and aren't being very transparent about it either. (but I don't believe they make money from cooperating with them, I'm just saying they are cooperating with them) "Telegram: Russia lifts ban on private messaging app after it 'agrees to help with extremism investigations'" https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/telegram-russia-ban-lift-messaging-app-encryption-download-a9573181.html https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/telegram-russia-ban-lift-... And if you believe what Roskomnadzor said: "The Telegram messenger has deleted over 256,000 prohibited materials since 2021 to date at requests of the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media, the regulator told TASS." https://tass.com/society/1767441 https://tass.com/society/1767441
wheresmyshadow 2y ago
In couple ways: - Premium - a monthly subscription that gives some additional gimmicks - Ads - they sell context-based ads in some large channels - Crypto - they developed and invest in TON which used to be fully theirs (maybe still is? idk) and it's incorporated in the app - Paid features inside the app, like you can buy their in-app currency to then use it in bots and whatnots I think these are the main ways, also their CEO is a billionaire which is supposed to cover the rest of expenses and can gather investors to help. Edit: sorry I suck at formatting