Telegram has launched a program which allows users to get Premium for sending SMS messages with OTP codes to other users. A user from Indonesia shared screenshots of the feature with @tginfo.
Terms of Service have appeared for the new program, which is called “Peer-to-Peer Login Program”.
On the page Telegram informs that only users from some countries can participate. Telegram will be using user’s phone to send no more than 150 SMS codes monthly, at the user’s expense. When the user reaches the minimum quota, they will be rewarded with a transferable gift code that grants access to a monthly Telegram Premium subscription. The messenger won’t compensate carrier rates and fees for sending the messages.
Telegram warns that theoretically program participants can see phone numbers of the users who receive the OTP codes. The same way, receivers will know the codes are sent from other Telegram users.
@tginfo confirmed existence of the feature in Telegram for Android 10.8.1 (4404) code. The Terms of Service point out that the program is only available to Android users.
We speculate that the program will be used in countries which have high SMS fees, like Indonesia.