Instant messaging app Telegram has reached 400 million monthly active users, up from the 300 million reported in October.
Telegram says it is seeing 1.5 million new users everyday amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The platform says that it is developing a secure video calling feature to rival Zoom and Houseparty.
The platform largely competes with WhatsApp, which has reached over two billion users worldwide. It’s interesting to note that Telegram usually sees a surge in users when WhatsApp is down.
Telegram has amassed some loyal users due to its desktop app, which doesn’t require users’ phones to be connected to function, and its other features like cloud storage and folders.
However, these features have allowed the platform to be misused by some people who use it to distribute and download pirated versions of songs, movies and apps. Telegram is still largely dealing with a piracy issue.
It’s not surprising that Telegram has seen an increase in users since pretty much every other platform also has during the pandemic. It will be interesting to see its new secure group video calling feature once it rolls out, and to see if the service will actually be able to compete with Zoom.
Source: TechCrunch
