Telegram Announces Sponsored Messages to Promote Bots and Channels

Telegram, the instant messaging platform, announced on Friday Sponsored Messages, a new tool that will allow users to promote their channels and bots. Telegram explains that users will only be able to see sponsored messages on public channels that have more than 100 subscribers. In addition, sponsored Posts will have a 160 character limit and will be related to the topic of the channel they are displayed on. Telegram says that it is currently testing the feature with a small section of its user base, with the broader implementation coming sometime later.

Telegram said it plans to share the revenue with the owners of public channels. Many one-to-many channel managers already run ads in the form of messages. The new tool will offer administrators a more agile way to promote their channels and bots. Last December, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said that the company planned to launch its advertising platform for public one-to-many channels.

Telegram says that users will not see sponsored messages in personal chats or groups. Also, the company will not analyze user data to show targeted ads. It also promises not to track or profile users based on their interaction with sponsored posts or other activities.

All users of a particular channel will see the same ad. However, the company will offer some tools to serve "precise and efficient ads." This means that advertisers can choose the language and approximate themes of the channels they want to show their ads.