What's missing in Telegram Premium? Seven features you need

In June, Telegram released a major update, the key feature of which was the Premium subscription that gives users a set of new opportunities.

The features we are talking about are covered in a separate article:

Now it's time to talk about the future of premium subscription in our favourite messenger and choose 7 must-have features that Pavel Durov's team should implement in the next updates. Let's go!

Annual, family and corporate subscriptions and Premium as a gift

At the moment, subscriptions are only available with a monthly renewal. However, it is not convenient for every user. The editorial board of Durov's Code concluded that the option of paying once a year is very much in demand. It's a matter of doing it once and forgetting it.

It would also be nice to get a discount - for example, some services offer a year for 10 months if you subscribe "in bulk" - quite a discount for loyalty.

At the same time, a family subscription would also be useful. For instance, 5 family members could use the "premium" conditionally for 10 dollars/month. For users, the savings are obvious, and for Telegram, this would be useful in terms of retaining a paying audience - it is always easier for one person to choose out of something than for several at once. Even if the "head of the family" decides to stop paying, he can be persuaded to change his mind by his loved ones:

Well, darling, where are my premium stickers? Put them back exactly how they were!

A corporate subscription wouldn't be out of place. For example, if a company actively uses Telegram at work and is willing to cover the cost of Premium features for its employees. So, the possibility to pay for 5, 10, 50 or even 100 Premium accounts from one account would be very convenient. Especially if there are more and more business-relevant features in the subscription.

And lastly, the possibility to give a Premium to a loved one (not necessarily) and pay for it from your account. This may be useful if the recipient of the gift does not yet see the value of the subscription for him/herself, but would be happy to use the enhanced functionality if it were gifted to him/her. By the way, something similar should be available in the near future.

The ban on receipt of voice messages

It's no secret that not everyone likes voice messages, especially when they're sent by strangers or people you don't know well. Therefore it would be great if there was a point in the privacy settings that allows you to limit their receipt: from everyone, from certain contacts or from those who are not in your contacts. In other words, the way it is implemented, for example, with calls.

At the same time, if someone wanted to send "voices" and they were forbidden by the recipient, they would simply not have the corresponding button in the dialogue. Issuing a bar that "the contact has forbidden to send him voice messages" is still a bit rude. And no button, you'd have to text it then.

Video calls and broadcasts in the best quality, video quality choice

Telegram has already increased the download and upload speed of media files for Premium users, so a logical continuation of this initiative would be to improve the picture quality during video calls and live broadcasts.

Moreover, at the moment there is often a lack of not only resolution and bitrate, but also overall stability in the video functions - something the messenger team should work on for all users.

Another idea is the possibility to select the resolution (quality) when watching videos inside the messenger. Right now, as you know, the playback quality is pretty average, and it is that way regardless of the internet speed or device capabilities. Also missing is the ability to remember when the user has stopped watching a video, so that he can continue watching from that point.

Automatic translation of channels and chats, as well as outgoing messages

Telegram has recently been offering a translator, but it is inconvenient to translate each message separately, especially when you read many foreign channels or hang out in groups with international membership.

Therefore, I suggest that Telegram should add an automatic translation button to the profile of each channel or group. When it is activated, all posts in the channel or chat messages would be automatically translated, making them much easier to read. And for those cases where you need to see the original, add a small button to the translated messages for this as well.

Another incredibly useful feature would be an automatic translation of user messages in private conversations and in groups when they are sent. This could be implemented with a button on a contact's or chat room's profile screen.

Replying to specific phrases

The feature of replying to specific messages is a great idea. However, when it is necessary to answer a bulky post containing several theses at once, it is not enough to answer the selected fragment. And this very fragment would be attached to the reply at the top, and when you click on it, the original post would be opened with the highlighting of the phrase that was actually responded to. Quoting in the forums is conceptually implemented in a similar way.

Separate tech support line for premium customers

Telegram's tech support does exist, but alas, not many people manage to get through to it. We hope that a separate line for Premium customers will be opened, which will give more chances to get an answer in case of any problems.

Gamification element for the star

If Telegram decided to visually separate Premium users from regular ones, the idea of the star may be worth developing somehow, giving some subscribers an opportunity to stand out more. I'm talking about a system of achievements, which the messenger asks for by itself, because the star can be different colours, different shapes and with some additional elements.

For example, it is possible to somehow mark the "early birds" - those who signed up for Telegram Premium in the first days after its launch. It is also possible to distinguish users who have been with Premium continuously for a year, two, five... Channel owners with roughly 100,000 or more readers could be awarded a separate star, and so on.

Many things can be thought of here, and both users and the messenger itself would benefit. There will be an element of game for users, and Telegram will use Achievements to retain more users within a subscription, because if it is canceled, all the achievements will simply get burnt out.