Messaging service Telegram said it has added 25 million new users over the past 72 hours, days after it surpassed the 500 million monthly active user mark.
The surge in new users took place after Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp rolled out a new policy outlining terms through which it could transfer data to its parent company.
"The new users are from across the globe – 38 percent from Asia, 27 percent from Europe, 21 percent from Latin America and 8 percent from MENA," the company said in a statement.
“This is a significant increase compared to last year, when 1.5M new users signed up every day," Telegram’s CEO and Founder Pavel Durov said in a recent blog post. "We've had surges of downloads before, throughout our 7-year history of protecting user privacy. But this time is different."
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Durov added that 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," he said.
With half a billion active users and accelerating growth, Telegram said it had become the "largest refuge for those seeking a communication platform committed to privacy and security. We take this responsibility very seriously. We won’t let you down."
The company added that it has been consistent when it comes to defending private and to improve its apps.
"For those of you who just joined and are wondering what Telegram stands for, I’d like to quote:
You – our users – have been and will always be our only priority. Unlike other popular apps, Telegram doesn’t have shareholders or advertisers to report to. We don’t do deals with marketers, data miners or government agencies. Since the day we launched in August 2013 we haven’t disclosed a single byte of our users' private data to third parties. We operate this way because we don’t regard Telegram as an organization or an app. For us, Telegram is an idea; it is the idea that everyone on this planet has a right to be free.”
