WhatsApp rival Telegram crosses 1 billion downloads, Indian users make up 22% of total installs, claims report

Encrypted messaging app Telegram has become the latest app to join the exclusive club of apps that have generated over one billion downloads, according to a new report that shows the popularity of WhatsApp’s largest encrypted messaging rival. It has also been revealed that the largest portion of these downloads comes from Indian users, who make up 22 percent of the total installs.

The messaging service that grew in popularity back in 2014 when WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion, has now accumulated over 1 billion downloads globally, TechCrunch reports, citing data from analytics firm Sensor Tower. The app crossed the 1 billion mark on Friday, according to the report. The app gained 214.7 million installations in the first half of this year, which represents a whopping 61 percent year-on-year growth when compared to the first half of 2020, where it gained 133 million installs.

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Interestingly, the largest number of users of Telegram are from India, and users from the country make up around 22 percent of the total lifetime downloads of the app, the report states. Readers will also remember that Telegram and Signal skyrocketed in popularity around the world (as well as in India) after WhatsApp attempted to push users to accept its privacy policy earlier this year.

Telegram was launched back in 2013, and it has grown in popularity as the app has added useful features that have since been adopted by rival apps including the most widely used encrypted messenger, WhatsApp. It is interesting to note that just like its rival, WhatsApp’s biggest userbase is also in India, and many use the app as their primary (or in some cases, only) form of communication.

According to the report, India makes up 22 percent of installs so far, and two other noteworthy countries are Russia (with 10 percent) and Indonesia with (8 percent), and the app had around 500 million active users at the beginning of 2021. While Telegram will certainly have less than 1 billion active users due to many users uninstalling the app, it is worth noting WhatsApp has over two billion active users, and Telegram still has a very long way to go if it is to unseat WhatsApp and become the most widely used encrypted messaging service on the web.