Charge for messages to you
What it is
With Charge for Messages, strangers pay Stars for each message they send you: anyone outside your contacts whom you haven't messaged first. Spam drops, and you keep 85% of each fee, as Telegram's Stars terms say. Senders see the price before sending. Groups can charge members per message, and channels can charge for direct messages.
How to do it
- Get Telegram Premium: a personal account needs it for this.
- Settings › Privacy and Security › Messages › Charge for Messages (Desktop: Charge for messages).
- Set your price per message; the screen shows your share.
- Under Remove Fee, add people or whole groups who write for free.
- In a chat with someone who paid, tap Remove Fee to make them free; tick the refund to return their Stars.
- Group: group profile › Edit (Android: pencil; Desktop: Manage group) › Permissions › Charge Stars for Messages.
- Channel: Channel Settings › Direct Messages, switch them on and set a price.
Watch out
- Contacts and people you messaged first never pay.
- A refund returns the whole fee, your 85% included.
- Stars from messages can be withdrawn through Fragment only 21 days after they arrive.
- A group's Stars are managed by its owner in the group's profile.
- Don't want to pay someone's fee? Wait for them to write first, or ask them to add you to their contacts.
With Gem
Gem doesn't charge for messages. Nearby: in /myprojects → Sell people pay Stars in your project's Mini App for an offer you describe in words; Gem reviews it before it sells, and refunds are one button.
Sources
- https://telegram.org/blog/star-messages-gateway-2-0-and-more
- https://telegram.org/tos/stars
- https://telegram.org/faq
- https://telegram.org/blog/direct-to-channel-trim-voice-and-more