Telegram Celebrates 1 Billion Lively Customers and Takes Swipe at WhatsApp

• Telegram reached 1 billion month-to-month energetic customers, its CEO mentioned.
• CEO Pavel Durov took a shot at WhatsApp, calling it “an inexpensive, watered-down imitation of Telegram.”
• Durov has been allowed to go away France after being held on costs of failing to curb extremist content material.

Telegram simply hit the huge milestone of 1 billion month-to-month energetic customers.

As CEO Pavel Durov shared the information on his private Telegram channel, he additionally took a direct shot at his greatest competitor, Meta-owned WhatsApp, which has over 2 billion month-to-month energetic customers.

“Forward of us stands WhatsApp — an inexpensive, watered-down imitation of Telegram,” he wrote. “For years, they’ve desperately tried to repeat our improvements whereas burning billions on lobbying and PR campaigns to sluggish us down. They failed. Telegram grew, turned worthwhile, and —in contrast to our competitor — retained its independence.”

He added within the put up that the corporate has additionally raked in $547 million in revenue in 2024.

Durov’s swipe at his rival got here simply after he was allowed to return to Dubai after being held in France for months.

The CEO was arrested in August 2024 after touchdown in Paris on his personal jet. French authorities charged him with a number of offenses, together with “complicity” within the distribution of kid sexual abuse materials and drug trafficking on Telegram whereas refusing to cooperate with the authorities’ investigation into the platform. He was launched on a $5.6 million bail.

Durov has denied the accusations and wrote in a press release on his Telegram channel on September 5, 2024, that holding him chargeable for crimes dedicated by third events on the platform was each a “shocking” and “misguided method.”

Initially, Durov was barred from leaving France. However the Paris prosecutor’s workplace confirmed that his judicial restrictions had been briefly lifted from March 15 to April 7, permitting him to journey once more. No particulars got concerning the circumstances of his launch or if he will probably be required to return.

“The method is ongoing however it feels nice to be residence,” mentioned Durov in a put up on his Telegram channel on Monday.

Since its launch in 2013 by brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov, Telegram has positioned itself as a privacy-first various to mainstream messaging apps, with end-to-end encryption for video calls and secret chats that gained a following in international locations the place speech is extra restricted.

Since Durov’s arrest, Telegram has made some main coverage modifications, together with becoming a member of the Web Watch Basis — a bunch that helps establish and take away little one intercourse abuse content material — and publishing transparency studies that element how a lot content material it eliminated, which is a standard trade follow.

Telegram additionally introduced in September 2024 that it’ll begin sharing IP addresses and telephone numbers of offenders with legislation enforcement when legally required to take action.

Telegram didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.