Social Media app Telegram has introduced a new advertising tool- Sponsored Messages that will enable the users to influence their channels and bots on the platform. As of now this feature is under testing and will be limited to 160 characters. In addition to this, it will be more evident on the public channels with over 1000 subscribers.
According to Telegram, Sponsored Messages are based solely on the topic of the public channels in which they are shown. This indicates that no user data is collected or analysed to display ads, and every user on Telegram who views a specific channel sees the same sponsored messages.
Sponsored messages on Telegram are displayed in large public one-to-many channels with 1000+ subscribers and are limited to 160 characters. Sponsored Messages are based solely on the topic of the public channels in which they are shown.
In Sponsored Messages, Advertisers can select the language and approximate topics of the channels on which their ads will appear. It is also possible to specify which channels will display a specific ad – and which will not. This enables advertisers to serve targeted and efficient advertisements while protecting user privacy.
According to Telegram, unlike other apps, it does not track or profile users based on how they interact with sponsored messages or other activities. It will also block external links in sponsored messages to prevent third-party eavesdropping on the users.
Sponsored Messages are currently in testing mode. The company will begin sharing ad revenue with the owners of public channels in which sponsored messages are displayed once they are fully launched and cover Telegram’s basic costs.
Recently Telegram also announced the release of Update 8.2 offering features such as high-speed scrolling and a calendar view, an admin approval setting for invite links, global chat themes for your entire app, and more.
The hyperspeed scrolling for shared media offers a new date bar on the side of the page that can be dragged up and down to scroll through shared media faster. While the Calendar views for shared media allows you to quickly find media from a specific time, the user needs to tap on the date bar to open a calendar interface with media previews for each day– then tap to see all the media from that date.
One can now also join a group or channel on their own time – whether you share the link privately or turn it into a QR code on a billboard is up to you. When additional invite links are created for chat, a Request Admin Approval setting will give admins more control over who is able to join and see the chat.
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