Telegram passes 500 million download milestone on the Google Play Store w/ 400 million users

Damien Wilde | May 4 2020 - 5:06 am PT

Despite the dominance of WhatsApp messenger in vast swathes of the globe, Telegram has now surpassed the impressive 500 million download milestone on the Google Play Store.

Considering that the impressive cross-platform messaging app doesn’t come pre-installed on any devices like WhatsApp, Google Messages, or even Facebook Messenger, this makes the milestone all the more impressive (via Android Police).

As an alternative to the myriad of mobile messengers, Telegram and Telegram X are offer some of the best features including full cross-platform support — which allows you to seamlessly switch between iOS, Android, and even desktop without losing your chat logs, media, and more.

If you factor in the alternative Telegram X version — which offers some extra features and a slightly re-jigged UI — then that total download figure increases by 10 million. That 510 million+ download figure barely scratches the surface of the 5 billion from Facebook-owned WhatsApp or Google Messages recent 1 billion downloads.

That last official announcement of the messaging app’s userbase had Telegram sitting at around 400 million active users as of the end of April 2020. Considering that’s across devices and platforms, it definitely fits in with the download figure amassed on the Google Play Store since release.

Luckily for Telegram, there appears to be a public perception shift on the need for end-to-end encryption and with an impressive set of features, fantastic user interface, and overall ease of use, the messaging platform is a fine alternative to the likes of WhatsApp, Google Messages, Viber and more.