Telegram app set to cross 1 billion users in a year, says founder

Telegram, the Dubai based messaging app, is poised to surpass 1 billion active monthly users within a year, it founder has said.

In an interview, Pavel Durov told the US journalist Tucker Carlson that Telegram, widely used in Ukraine and Russia, is rapidly gaining popularity, likening its growth to that of a "forest fire," reported Reuters.

"We'll probably cross 1 billion monthly active users within a year now," Durov told Tucker, according to the video interview posted on Tucker's account on the X social media platform.

Durov said that the app, which currently boasts 900 million active users, aims to stay a "neutral platform" rather than getting involved in geopolitics.

The entrepreneur, originally from Russia, said that he left the country in 2014 due to government meddling in a company he established.

Since Russia initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram which is a free cloud based app, has emerged as a crucial tool for both the governments, serving as a primary platform for sharing and accessing information about the war.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shares his daily video updates on the app, while the country's armed forces uses it to issue warnings about air raids and document developments on the battlefield.

Similarly, the Kremlin uses Telegram to announce President Vladimir Putin's activities, while Russia's opposition employs the platform to mobilise support.

Critics argue that the app has also been used for spreading misinformation and manipulation.

In March, a bill was proposed to the Ukrainian parliament to tighten regulations on Telegram and other social networks.

The Kremlin advised Durov to exercise more caution after reports suggested that his app was used to recruit gunmen involved in the attack on a concert hall near Moscow in March.

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