Telegram founder Pavel Durov mentioned in the present day that the service now has greater than 1 billion energetic customers. This quantity is up from final yr’s reported 950 million monthly active users.
Durov additionally famous that the corporate registered $547 million in earnings final yr. He had announced the company’s profitability in December however hadn’t offered any numbers at the moment.
The founder, who lately returned to Dubai after clearance from France, additionally took a jab at Meta-owned rival WhatsApp and known as it an inexpensive imitation.
“Forward of us stands WhatsApp — an inexpensive, watered-down imitation of Telegram. For years, they’ve desperately tried to repeat our improvements whereas burning billions on lobbying and PR campaigns to gradual us down. They failed. Telegram grew, turned worthwhile, and — not like our competitor — retained its independence,” he mentioned in an replace on his channel.
Durov was underneath investigation in France associated to alleged legal actions — akin to facilitating organized fraud, unlawful transactions, and the sharing of CSAM (baby sexual abuse materials) — on Telegram. He additionally spent a number of days in police custody in August.
Outdoors China, WhatsApp stands tall by way of lead in common chat platforms with more than 2 billion monthly active users. Each firms are additionally competing to get the mindshare of companies and creators via varied options akin to business accounts and channels.
Telegram has moreover appealed to crypto fanatics by integrating the TON blockchain, wallets, and decentralized app ecosystem for unlocking content, tipping creators, and in-app purchases for mini-apps and games. The corporate additionally rolled out a decentralized verification system in January via a network of third-party accounts.
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