🎉 Telegram has reached 10 million paid subscribers. 10 million people are now enjoying Telegram Premium!

🆕 Today, we’re introducing new features while phasing out a few outdated ones.

⛔️ We’ve removed the People Nearby feature, which was used by less than 0.1% of Telegram users, but had issues with bots and scammers.

🛍 In its place, we will be launching “Businesses Nearby”, showcasing legitimate, verified businesses. These businesses will be able to display product catalogs and accept payments seamlessly.

✂️ We’ve also disabled new media uploads to Telegraph, our standalone blogging tool, which seems to have been misused by anonymous actors.

☝️ While 99.999% of Telegram users have nothing to do with crime, the 0.001% involved in illicit activities create a bad image for the entire platform, putting the interests of our almost billion users at risk.

✊ That’s why this year we are committed to turn moderation on Telegram from an area of criticism into one of praise.