• The messaging app Telegram is spreading like a “forest fire”, which is expected to cross 1 billion active monthly users within a year.
  • Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp is one of Telegram’s primary competitors with over 2 billion monthly active users.
  • Telegram has been plagued by controversies that the app has also developed into a tool for deceit and manipulation.

The messaging app Telegram, which has now 900 million active users will likely cross 1 billion active monthly users within a year, Pavel Durov, its founder, released on Tuesday.

About Telegram

The Telegram messaging app is one of the most popular social media platforms in Ukraine and Russia.

Pavel Durov, the sole owner of Telegram, claims that the free cloud-based app, which is based in Dubai and lets users send and receive calls, messages, and other files, is spreading like a “forest fire.” And in a year, they’ll most likely reach 1 billion active monthly users.

The app currently has 900 million active users, and according to Durov, its objective is to continue being a “neutral platform” rather than a “player in geopolitics”. The businessman, who was born in Russia, claimed he left the country in 2014 due to interference from the government in a company he started.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram has developed into a vital tool for governments as well as a preferred location for posting and gaining access to uncensored news about the conflict. In both Russia and Ukraine, practically all of the major media, governmental organizations, and public figures run Telegram content channels.

With over 2 billion monthly active users, Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp is one of Telegram’s primary competitors. When Telegram became profitable, the Financial Times reported in March that the company would probably pursue a US listing.

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Telegram has been plagued by controversies

However, detractors claimed that the app has also developed into a tool for deceit and manipulation. Stricter regulation of Telegram and other social networks is the subject of a bill that was submitted to the Ukrainian parliament in March.

Following reports that the messaging app was used to aid in the recruitment of the gunmen who attacked a concert hall outside of Moscow in March, the Kremlin advised Durov to pay closer attention.