Telegram, a cloud-based encrypted messaging app, has been a fixture in the headlines since the arrest of its CEO, Pavel Durov.
Founded in 2013, the app boasts nearly a billion users worldwide and data from Statista has revealed the countries where it is the most popular.
Telegram gained popularity thanks to its strong stance on privacy and describes itself as: “Committed to protecting user privacy and human rights such as freedom of speech and assembly. It has played a prominent role in pro-democracy movements.”
The app is popular in Russia and Ukraine, and as such it is playing a pivotal role in the Russia-Ukraine war. It’s ranked as one of the major social media platforms, long with Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok.
The Telegram logo is displayed on a number of screens on August 26, 2024 in London, England. Data shows where the app is being most downloaded.
Leon Neal/Getty Images
Russian-born billionaire founder Durov was detained by French authorities in August. He faces preliminary charges for “complicity in managing an online platform to allow illicit transactions by an organized group.” These charges stem from claims that Telegram has been used for the distribution of child sex abuse material, facilitating drug trafficking, committing fraud and aiding organized crime.
Durov has since been released from custody.
As of July 2024, Telegram has reached 950 million monthly active users, reflecting growth from its 900 million users in the spring. Telegram is one of the top five most downloaded apps in the world, with 409.48 million downloads in 2023 alone, as per Demand Sage.
In 2023, India had the highest number of Telegram app downloads worldwide, with 83.85 million downloads, making it the country with the largest user base.
Russia followed with the second-highest number of downloads at 35.06 million. The United States ranked third, with 29.92 million Telegram downloads during the same period.
Telegram was downloaded 409.48 million times in 2023, an increase of 6.94 per cent compared to the 382.92 million downloads recorded in 2021, as per Demand Sage.
The platform’s user demographics show that 53.2% of users are between the ages of 25 and 44, with a male-to-female ratio of 58% to 42%. On average, users spend 3 hours and 45 minutes per month on the app. Financially, Telegram recorded $11.66 million in in-app revenue during the first two months of 2024, and the company has raised over $4 billion since its inception, as per Demand Sage.
Telegram has been blocked and restricted in 18 countries. It is completely banned in China and Iran and was banned on a temporary basis in Cuba, Iraq, Russia and Thailand.
Additionally, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Norway, Pakistan and Spain have had restrictions imposed on the app in some cases.
Durov’s arrest has reignited fresh debates about how governments and tech companies should interact. The Russian government has criticized the arrest, with foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stating that: “Tens of millions of social media users are outraged, as are many independent public figures, while the neoliberal elites remain deathly silent.”
Newsweek contacted Telegram for comment via the platform’s official press team channel.
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