🚨Telegram Stars Problems: A New Wave of Bot Restrictions
Yesterday, Telegram began sending ban notifications to developers whose functionality involves subscriptions and payment for services through bots.
The reason? Violation of Apple’s guidelines: accepting payments without using the in-app purchase mechanism. Affected bots had millions of users and millions of dollars invested.
Any subscription system through Telegram Stars faces a critical limitation: if a user is out of stars, the subscription can't renew. There’s no way to automatically charge a card either.
Buying stars is a challenge for most users, who either don’t know how or simply can’t. They need an Apple ID, specific carriers, workarounds via resellers, etc.
There’s also a hint of double standards: @PremiumBot, which allows users to buy Stars directly with a card, is verified and not being blocked. Essentially, Telegram is manually moderating, evaluating, and sanctioning projects. This adds unpredictability for any dev project in the ecosystem.
This is a serious warning for all that are building businesses on Telegram. Cases like this demand clear rules, stable mechanics, and proper subscription methods. If you’re working with subscriptions, paid content, or monetization via fiat or TON-based payment systems — stay alert. You could receive such a notification at any time.
Plan alternative monetization strategies in advance, prepare communication ways in case of a block, and keep track of updates to both Telegram and Apple guidelines.
A revealing comparison: LINE messenger also has its own currency and WebView platform, yet it doesn’t force this kind of repressive policy. This raises the question: is the issue Apple’s rules, or how Mini Apps are implemented as a native part of Telegram?
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