The first spring update Telegram released in 2025 brings 5 major new features that change how you message, earn money, and stay safe online. This Telegram first spring update lets you charge strangers to message you using Stars, protecting your inbox while turning attention into income for creators and public figures.
The first spring update of Telegram also introduces Verification Platform 2.0 for cheaper user checks, a new info page that warns you about unknown senders before you reply, and the option to gift Telegram Premium using Stars instead of cash. Below is a full breakdown of every change that matters.
First Spring Update Telegram: Star Messages Let You Charge for Your Inbox
The biggest feature in the Telegram first spring update is Star Messages. Premium users can now set a per-message fee for anyone outside their contact list. You configure the price in Settings → Privacy → Messages. Contacts and anyone you message first pay nothing. Everyone else pays Stars to reach your inbox.
You keep 85% of the Stars collected from paid messages. Telegram takes a 15% cut. This solves two problems at once: creators can separate genuine fans from spam, and anyone with a public profile can cut the noise without going fully private.
The fee applies per message, not per conversation. A scammer who fires off twenty messages pays twenty times. A genuine fan who writes one thoughtful note pays once. Group owners can also enable paid messaging via permission settings, turning every post into a skin-in-the-game interaction.
Star Withdrawals: Turn Telegram Stars into Real Money
Earning Stars is one thing. Converting them to cash is another. The first spring update of Telegram closes that loop with a new “My Stars” section that lets users withdraw their balance through Fragment, with payouts made in TON cryptocurrency.
For creators running paid channels or charging for DMs, this is the cash-out path that was missing. You earn Stars in-app, withdraw through Fragment, and convert TON to fiat through any exchange that lists it. No external tipping service or Patreon overhead required.
Account Info Page: Scam Protection Before You Reply
When a stranger messages you in this first spring update of Telegram, you now see a preview page before the chat opens. A Contact Confirmation page shows the account’s registration time, profile picture change history, and username change history of unfamiliar users to prevent scams.
The signals that matter most are account age (a three-day-old account asking about your crypto wallet is almost certainly a scammer), profile picture history (scammers often swap photos frequently), and username changes. Pavel Durov confirmed this update aims to help users protect themselves from scammers.
Verification Platform 2.0: Cheaper User Checks for Developers
Developers building Telegram mini-apps or bots can now perform user verification at lower cost through Telegram Gateway. Startups no longer pay full SMS-provider rates to verify a user’s phone number. Telegram pipes the verification through the user’s own app, cutting costs significantly compared to providers like Twilio.
Gift Premium with Stars: A New Way to Share Telegram Premium
Users can now gift Telegram Premium using Stars, with traditional currency payments still available as well. If you’ve been sitting on Stars from tips, paid channels, or paid messages from the first spring update Telegram features, you can now convert them straight into a Premium subscription for yourself or someone else.
How to Enable Star Messages: Step-by-Step Setup
To enable the Star Messages feature from the first spring update of Telegram, follow these steps:
- Open Settings → Privacy & Security → Messages
- Toggle Paid Messages on
- Set your price per message in Stars
- Choose exempt groups if you want some contacts to bypass the fee
Your contacts and anyone you’ve messaged first stay exempt without any extra configuration needed.
What the First Spring Update Means for Telegram Creators
Telegram has been building a monetization stack for two years. Channel ad revenue sharing, paid subscriptions, collectible gifts, and tipping with Stars were all pieces. The first spring update of Telegram plugs the two biggest remaining gaps: inbox monetization through Star Messages and cash-out through Star Withdrawals.
ith a Telegram channel can now run a free or paid channel for broad reach, charge strangers Stars to DM them directly, and withdraw earnings as TON to convert to cash. That is a full monetization loop with no external service, no Stripe integration, and no platform overhead.The scam-preview page is the feature that will quietly save people from losing money, while Star Messages is the one that will matter most in daily use for creators. The rest of the first spring update of Telegram fills gaps the platform has carried for years.
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