India becomes Telegram's biggest market, downloads cross 1 billion

By Team Newsable  |  First Published Aug 31, 2021, 3:31 PM IST

India is followed by Russia, which accounts for roughly 10 per cent of all instals, and Indonesia, which accounts for 8 per cent of downloads. 


According to media reports, the instant messaging software Telegram has surpassed 1 billion downloads worldwide. Telegram was founded in late 2013, and it took about eight years to reach the milestone on Friday, August 27. As per Sensor Tower study, India is the largest market for Telegram, accounting for 22 per cent of all downloads. This is comparable to Telegram's main competitor WhatsApp, which likewise has India as its largest market. According to reports, Telegram downloads increased in 2021. This might be due to the uproar over WhatsApp's new privacy policy and the company's handling of it.

Reports further suggest India accounted for 22 per cent of Telegram downloads. India is followed by Russia, which accounts for roughly 10 per cent of all instals, and Indonesia, which accounts for 8 per cent of downloads. 

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According to the study, Telegram has 214.7 million instals in the first half of 2021, a 61 per cent year-on-year increase from 133 million in H1 2020. It is crucial to note that the total number of instals does not equal the active user base of the programme. As of early 2021, Telegram had about 500 million monthly active users.

Telegram is the fifteenth app in the world to have been downloaded one billion times or more. WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Spotify, and Netflix are among the other applications with 1 billion downloads. Telegram raised over $1 billion (approximately Rs 7,326 crores) in its most recent investment round earlier this year.

Also Read | Infosys share price hits new record high, market capitalisation hits $100 billion

In other business news, the Bengaluru-based IT firm's market capitalisation surpassed 7.45 lakh crore ($100 billion). According to stock exchange data, Infosys became India's fourth business to reach the $100 billion mark, behind Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, and HDFC Bank.

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