Telegram removes ability to offer paid posts in iOS app due to Apple’s rules

In order to comply with Apple’s request, popular messaging app Telegram announced that they have removed the ability for iOS users to offer paid-posts in their Telegram channels via third party payment systems.

Last week, 9to5Mac reported that Telegram quietly started testing the ability to share pay-to-view posts bypassing Apple’s 30% in-app purchase fee, citing a recent post from social media consultant Matt Navarra. Following the news, a company spokesperson told 9to5Mac that they’re not testing such a feature but it was users discovering third party payment bots to monetize their posts on the platform. 

Telegram’s CEO and Founder Pavel Durov wrote in his public Telegram channel on Friday that Apple requested them to remove the ability as ‘’they were not happy with content creators monetizing their efforts without paying a 30% tax to Apple.’’ He said that they had to comply with the request ‘’since Apple has complete control over its ecosystem’’.

‘’This is just another example of how a trillion-dollar monopoly abuses its market dominance at the expense of millions of users who are trying to monetize their own content,’’ Durov continued. ‘’I hope that the regulators in the EU, India and elsewhere start taking action before Apple destroys more dreams and crushes more entrepreneurs with a tax that is higher than any government-levied VAT.’’

CEO Durov’s criticism of Apple’s App Store practices is nothing new. Earlier this year, he said that their new update was stuck in the company’s ‘’obscure’’ app review process for two weeks, making them feel discouraged. Apple eventually approved the update which added ‘’Telemojis’’ to the messaging app.

In June, Telegram also launched its premium tier which now offers users exclusive features including the ability to download content faster and upload files of up to 4GB. The service, which costs between $4.99 – $6, comes $1 cheaper for those that sign up using Telegram’s website instead of its mobile apps since ‘’the payments are not subject to fees from Apple or Google’’ when doing so.

Also Read: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov: ‘Stay away from WhatsApp’

Apple also has recently come under fire from audio streaming platform Spotify and social media giant Meta.

Spotify, which launched its audiobooks service in the US last month, accused the iPhone-maker of being anticompetitive and making the purchase flow “far too complicated and confusing” with its rules.

Meanwhile, Meta took aim at Apple’s new App Store policy that will now take a cut from the revenue that apps like Facebook and Instagram generate from boosted social media posts.