Due to widespread backlash over an upcoming privacy policy update in WhatsApp, users have been moving to to competing services like Signal and Telegram. The latter revealed today it saw more than 25 million new users sign up in just the last three days. Telegram also announced that it reached 500 million active users in the first week of January. New users that joined Telegram Messenger in the last 72 hours came from across the globe: 38% from Asia, 27% from Europe, 21% from Latin America, and 8% from MENA.
While stating there have been many surges of downloads throughout its seven-year history, Telegram recognized that this surge is different. Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram Messenger, wrote:
"People no longer want to exchange their privacy for free services. They no longer want to be held hostage by tech monopolies that seem to think they can get away with anything as long as their apps have a critical mass of users."
Durov said that Telegram is committed to protecting users" privacy and security, and linked to his quote from 2018 in which he informed users that Telegram doesn"t sign deals with "marketers, data miners or government agencies." Since launching in 2013, Telegram hasn"t disclosed any of its users" private data to third parties, Durov wrote, pitting the company"s offering as a viable alternative to its competitors.