John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 10.29.2022 02:Oct AM EDT

Telegram Paid Posts Feature Removed From iOS App Following Apple Complaint

Telegram's paid posts are gone at far as iOS devices are concerned.

Company CEO Pavel Durov recently announced that Telegram had removed the ability for users to publish paid posts or sponsored messages on the app in compliance with Apple's demands.

Telegram is reportedly still testing the feature on channels, albeit seemingly in silence as it has yet to announce its existence to the public, per 9to5Mac.

Telegram Sponsored Messages Removal

Durov mentioned in his statement on his Telegram channel that Apple was not happy with how content creators monetized their efforts on the app without paying a 30% tax to Apple. As such, Apple allegedly requested Durov to have the feature removed from its iOS app - an instruction which he complied with.

(Tip: To read Durov's statement, copy the link inserted in this article and paste it into the app's search bar. His channel should be the first one on the list.)

The 30% tax Durov is referring to in his statement is Apple's share of the revenue generated by content creators from in-app payments and app purchases.

Reports indicate that Telegram has been using its own payment system on iOS to bypass Apple's in-app purchases and the 30% tax that comes with it while quietly testing paid posts on channels, which explains Apple's outlook on the issue.

A Telegram spokesperson later clarified that the company was not testing a paid posts feature and that some creators are using third-party donations and pay-to-view-bots to view such content.

He also hopes that regulators from the EU, India, and regulators in other regions will take action before Apple "destroys more dreams and crushes more entrepreneurs" with a tax higher than any government-levied VAT.

Furthermore, Durov mentioned that he and his team at telegram offer content creators alternative tools to monetize their content outside of Apple's "restrictive" ecosystem.

Apple Vs. The World

This isn't the first time Apple's 30% cut has irked a company. You may remember that Epic Games, Spotify, and even major news organizations such as the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, according to Engadget, have sued Apple due to the tax they're demanding for in-app purchases and payments.

Elon Musk also weighed in on the debate, saying that the cut Apple is asking is 10% higher than it should be, per MacRumors.

Unfortunately, it seems the Cupertino-based tech giant is changing its App Store rules to expand its list of features that it can charge its cut.

CNBC reports that Apple's new App Store rule says that companies like Meta can offer apps that allow users to buy and manage advertising campaigns in dedicated apps without going through its payment system.

However, buying an ad in a social media app is considered a digital purchase, meaning that Apple can legally demand its 30% cut from the resulting revenue.