Telegram, one of the world’s largest social networks, “will likely reach one billion active monthly users within a year,” according to the app’s billionaire founder Pavel Durov.
“Telegram spreads like a forest fire,” Durov told American commentator Tucker Carlson on Tuesday.
So, what is Telegram and why is it suddenly so popular?
At its core, Telegram looks pretty familiar. It is an encrypted messaging service where users can send private messages and post to a feed, similar to other platforms.
Mr Duvrov said he came up with the idea for an encrypted messaging app as a way to communicate in Russia. His younger brother, Nikolai, designed the encryption.
He left the country in 2014 after coming under pressure to censor the social network he ran at the time, called VK.
Telegram, which now has 900 million users, is particularly popular in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. It is ranked among the world’s leading social media platforms, after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat.
It was blocked in Russia in 2018 after the company refused to hand over encryption data, but two years later Telegram was reinstated after the ban failed to stop people from using it.
Communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said it unblocked it because the app’s Russian founder, Mr Durov, was willing to cooperate in fighting terrorism and extremism on the platform, but this has been questioned.
The app was so widely used during the ban that government departments such as the Russian Foreign Ministry and the national coronavirus task force had official channels on Telegram.
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After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, users flocked to Telegram for its unfiltered and sometimes misleading content about the war.
At the start of the war, the Kremlin passed a new law which meant people who spread “false” information about the Russian armed forces could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
Access to Facebook was then partially restricted after Meta refused to stop checking Russian state media accounts.
Restrictions on information Russians have access to have become so severe, Finnish newspaper says began hiding news of the war in a secret room in the video game Counter-Strike.
Mr. Duvrov was determined to keep Telegram “neutral” and “free from geopolitics,” he told Mr. Carlson.
“I would rather be free than take orders from anyone,” he said.
Telegram, he said, is used by both opposition activists and governments, but will not take sides.
“The competition of different ideas can lead to progress and a better world for all,” Mr Durov said.
After trying London, Berlin, Singapore and San Francisco, he chose to settle in the United Arab Emirates because it was a “neutral country” and was not aligned with any of the superpowers.
He dismissed a question about claims that Telegram was controlled by Russia, calling it a false rumor spread by competitors worried about Telegram’s growth.
Telegram, one of the world’s largest social networks, “will likely reach one billion active monthly users within a year,” according to the app’s billionaire founder Pavel Durov.
“Telegram spreads like a forest fire,” Durov told American commentator Tucker Carlson on Tuesday.
So, what is Telegram and why is it suddenly so popular?
At its core, Telegram looks pretty familiar. It is an encrypted messaging service where users can send private messages and post to a feed, similar to other platforms.
Mr Duvrov said he came up with the idea for an encrypted messaging app as a way to communicate in Russia. His younger brother, Nikolai, designed the encryption.
He left the country in 2014 after coming under pressure to censor the social network he ran at the time, called VK.
Telegram, which now has 900 million users, is particularly popular in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. It is ranked among the world’s leading social media platforms, after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat.
It was blocked in Russia in 2018 after the company refused to hand over encryption data, but two years later Telegram was reinstated after the ban failed to stop people from using it.
Communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said it unblocked it because the app’s Russian founder, Mr Durov, was willing to cooperate in fighting terrorism and extremism on the platform, but this has been questioned.
The app was so widely used during the ban that government departments such as the Russian Foreign Ministry and the national coronavirus task force had official channels on Telegram.
Read more on Sky News:
Black hole discovered ‘hidden undetected’ near Earth
Schools won’t use Meta Quest VR unless teachers have ‘full control’
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, users flocked to Telegram for its unfiltered and sometimes misleading content about the war.
At the start of the war, the Kremlin passed a new law which meant people who spread “false” information about the Russian armed forces could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
Access to Facebook was then partially restricted after Meta refused to stop checking Russian state media accounts.
Restrictions on information Russians have access to have become so severe, Finnish newspaper says began hiding news of the war in a secret room in the video game Counter-Strike.
Mr. Duvrov was determined to keep Telegram “neutral” and “free from geopolitics,” he told Mr. Carlson.
“I would rather be free than take orders from anyone,” he said.
Telegram, he said, is used by both opposition activists and governments, but will not take sides.
“The competition of different ideas can lead to progress and a better world for all,” Mr Durov said.
After trying London, Berlin, Singapore and San Francisco, he chose to settle in the United Arab Emirates because it was a “neutral country” and was not aligned with any of the superpowers.
He dismissed a question about claims that Telegram was controlled by Russia, calling it a false rumor spread by competitors worried about Telegram’s growth.