There has been some controversy and headaches for the Instant Messaging company WhatsApp. On the opposite side of the spectrum, WhatsApp’s rivals, such as Telegram it’s all excellent news.
Telegram is celebrating a record number of active users on their platform. Telegram has had exponential growth within a few days, reaching over 500 million users and counting.
For those who don’t know what Telegram is, it’s a free cross-platform cloud-based instant messaging service like WhatsApp. Telegram provides end-to-end encryption to protect your privacy & security while using the application and options for video and voice calls.
The end-to-end encryption almost provides a “secret” unseen chat. Once it gets the information, it ciphers it into a non-translatable message and decrypts it only at the receiver. It also allows for sharing files up to 2GB of size, location services, and music services.
Why has Telegram exploded into being one of the largest instant messaging companies rivaling WhatsApp, you ask?
Well, WhatsApp introduced some of the most controversial privacy policies ever to be implemented into instant messaging, granting third-party marketing agencies like Facebook, its mother company.
This information gathered from your personal & private information is meant to be used for marketing purposes, but other uses can be implemented, making it unlawful.
With a twist of events, WhatsApp announced it will use its microphone permissions to provide solutions and marketing aspects. The way WhatsApp had written its policy almost sounded like they intended to listen in on personal conversations people have in their day-to-day lives.
Since this controversial implementation, WhatsApp has come out & stated that it differentiates “messages with family or friends” from “Messages with a business.”
Either way, consumers & users of the WhatsApp service have sought refuge in other viable sources of private & secure means of instant messaging like Telegram.
Within 72 hours of the announcement that WhatsApp had released to the public about the new privacy policy & what it outlines, Telegram gained over 25 million new users joining immediately.
The CEO of Telegram, Mr. Durov, stated that “The new users came from across the world, not just one region. We have had mass downloads before throughout the seven years of operations, but this time it’s different. People no longer want to exchange their private data & privacy for free services”.
Is it all smooth sailing?
In the past, Telegram also had copped some backlash with criticism of not removing inappropriate content from its platform. This is due to its strong privacy policy, which today stands for its consumers, ensuring no one will see or read their messages or interactions.
This time in 2019, Telegram, in comparison to its current users, only had 300 million, and in 2020 this was at just under 400 million, making it one of the most popular instant messaging applications after WhatsApp.
The boost in Telegram users is evident that was caused by WhatsApp deciding to share the consumers’ private information with particular areas of Facebook.
Since this change, WhatsApp has commented that it doesn’t change or affect its users’ privacy and that WhatsApp can’t see, read or hear any messages of its users.
The WhatsApp CEO, Mr. Will Cathcart stated on Twitter that “It’s important for us to be clear, the update describes business communication & doesn’t change WhatsApp’s data sharing procedures with Facebook”. He also went on further to state, “It doesn’t impact how people communicate privately with family or friends.”
Since WhatsApp lost significant market share & users from its platform, it’s clear users aren’t trusting the statements or changes WhatsApp is announcing. This has shown WhatsApp is losing popularity quickly.
Telegram, on the other hand, has gone through some issues but in the best way possible. With the influx of users immediately, the service has run a little slower than usual but was immediately rectified by its software division, allowing more users to connect to the application than ever before.
So, besides the privacy policies of Telegram, why are consumers choosing Telegram over WhatsApp as an alternative?
The user interface is very similar to WhatsApp, meaning users don’t need to relearn how to use the application. It’s pretty straightforward.
Not only this, but Telegram, also compared to WhatsApp, uses far less data, with a 35 to 40% less traffic consumption within an hour’s usage of the application.
In privacy & security, Telegram has become the new benchmark as it utilizes more than one encryption method in its messaging service compared to WhatsApp with only one. It also uses a secret chat function and a message timer option to boast more on how seriously they take security and privacy.
Telegram is also one of the only instant messaging companies which do not require personal information, just a mobile number. This always guarantees legitimate anonymity and does not breach your privacy one bit.
Wrap Up
With the new privacy policy released by WhatsApp a few days ago, a lot of questions & statements have been directed towards WhatsApp & Facebook, its mother company.
With a lot of controversy regarding users’ privacy and private data, including the new policy that grants WhatsApp to possibly read or hear messages of users and share your personal information and privacy with Facebook Companies, has made consumers look for alternatives in instant messaging applications.
The biggest rival of WhatsApp, Telegram, has now got over 500 million users, ensuring their main purpose is connectivity to people worldwide and maximum anonymity and privacy. Telegram recorded active users within three days of the announcement of WhatsApp’s new privacy policy updates, which sent the world by storm. If you require a new instant messaging application with maximum security and privacy, seek no more than Telegram.
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