“Ranked 2nd in the download rankings on the Apple App Store,” it was revealed that interest in Telegram exploded and downloads increased after Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested in France. According to app analytics firm App Figures on the 26th, Telegram rose to 2nd place in the social networking app category in the U.S. App Store rankings at 3 a.m. Moreover, in the U.S. app charts (excluding games), Telegram’s ranking rose from 18th on the 23rd to 8th on the 26th. According to App Figures, this is the highest ranking since January 1st of this year.
Despite Durov’s arrest in France, Telegram also jumped to 1st place in the social networking app rankings and 3rd place in the overall app rankings in France. The news of Durov’s arrest has attracted interest in Telegram. Telegram is known as a messaging application with high security that protects personal information using encryption programs.
On the 24th, French authorities arrested Durov at a French airport, accusing him of neglecting crimes related to drugs, money laundering, and child sexual abuse that were increasing due to Telegram’s exploitation of anonymity. Telegram has been utilized as a communication tool for democracy movements opposing government repression in countries such as Russia, Iran, the Middle East, and Hong Kong, thanks to its strong security. However, it has recently faced criticism for becoming a breeding ground for extremist content and the spread of fake news.
In January 2021, far-right groups that stormed the U.S. Congressional building reportedly gathered through Telegram, and recently, far-right violence protestors who disrupted the UK were also reported to have organized riots through Telegram.
Durov, a Russian entrepreneur, co-founded the social networking service (SNS) Vkontakte (VK), known as the Russian version of Facebook, along with his brother Nikolai Durov, and created the encrypted messaging app Telegram.”