It’s just getting started, but 2021 feels like it’s going to be an important year for social apps. The world’s most popular app, WhatsApp, has just announced changes to its privacy policy that will increase Facebook’s ability to use your data. Meanwhile, one of the world’s most controversial programs, Parler, was unveiled from the internet without ceremony this week. This is not surprising, it’s good news for rival chat app Telegram.
According to founder and CEO Pavel Durov, Telegram gained 25 million new users in the last 72 hours when it exceeded the 500 million active monthly user point. By comparison, the app averaged about 1.5 million new users per day in 2020, which was already impressive enough. Durvov says this is due to the simple promise of privacy and security of his business, above all.
The majority of new users come from Asia (38%), Europe (27%) and Latin America (21%), with about 8% reported from the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) . Although not explicitly noted in Durov’s message, there are probably a large number of orphans from Parler who join Telegram. platform. For the same reason, Signal had a similar increase in popularity.
Telegram recently outlined its plans to earn revenue, but the promised privacy of users will not be compromised. Advertising will only be used in one-to-many channels, and paid premium features are targeted at businesses and power users. Everything you currently use for free will remain free. There was a small controversy earlier this month when it emerged that the app’s nearby feature could be used to find out the exact location of a user rather than an approximate one, but it comes with the territory of an opt-in place-sharing function – at your own risk.
