The short answer
- 1Premium subscribers can make non-contacts pay Stars before their message arrives.
- 2Senders see the charge and confirm it; contacts and people you messaged first never pay.
- 3Remove Fee lets welcome strangers write free, and a free route in your bio keeps honest people in.
In this article
Why a price does what a filter cannot
You can put a price on receiving messages. Telegram Premium subscribers can set a fee in Stars that anyone outside their contacts pays before a message reaches them, and the Stars go to the recipient's balance. It is the only anti-spam setting that makes the sender pay something, which is why it works, and also why it is a bigger decision than one switch. How to set it is covered in charging Stars for messages; this page looks at both sides of the arrangement.
- Paid Messages - the feature as Telegram describes it in Settings › Telegram Premium
Opened from Settings › Telegram Premium by tapping the feature. This is Telegram's preview page; the setting itself lives where the steps below say.
Unwanted messages arrive in bulk because sending is free. A filter has to guess what is unwanted and is always wrong in both directions. A price does not guess: it makes sending thousands of messages uneconomic while keeping one message affordable. Contacts never pay, and neither does anyone you messaged first, so existing chats carry on exactly as before.
Paid messages from both sides
| Side | What happens |
|---|---|
| Sending to someone who charges | Before you send, the chat shows that the person charges for each message, and a confirmation appears. Nothing is taken without that step |
| Receiving | The Stars land in your balance. You receive a share of each fee, not all of it |
| Letting one person write free | Remove Fee for that person, and you can also refund the Stars they already paid. Useful once a stranger turns out to be someone you want to hear from |
| Groups | A group can charge ordinary members per message; admins are not charged. It thins out a busy public group but also quiets honest members |
If the volume is low, try the gentler options first: auto-archive new chats from unknown users (auto-archiving chats from strangers) or limit who can message you (message permissions).
Deciding on a price
- Check how many unwanted messages you actually get. A few a week is an archive problem, not a pricing one.
- Set the fee in Privacy and Security › Messages under Charge for Messages.
- Keep it low enough that one genuine message is worth it to the sender.
- Write a free route in your bio: a channel, a bot or an email address.
- Use Remove Fee for anyone who turns out to be welcome.
FAQ
Do my contacts have to pay to message me on Telegram?
No. Contacts and anyone you messaged first are never charged.
Can I refund someone who paid to message me?
Yes. Remove Fee for that person and you can also refund the Stars they already paid.
Will I be charged without warning when messaging someone who charges?
No. The chat shows the charge and asks you to confirm before sending.
Sources
At a glance
- 1What
A Star fee on messages from non-contacts.
- 2Senders
See the charge and confirm before sending.
- 3Receivers
Get a share, can remove the fee and refund.
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