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Telegram surges past 1 billion Play Store downloads

Third-party messaging client Telegram has now joined an exclusive and limited club after surpassing the 1 billion download figure over on the Google Play Store.

Likely spurred by the recent outage to Facebook-owned services such as WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, cross-platform messaging app Telegram has now surged over the 1 billion download mark on the Play Store (via Android Police).

That discounts the many reasons that Telegram is a worthy download for those wanting more control over their one-to-one and group conversations. The app includes a number of features that many rival services lack, including the ability to use it on multiple devices simultaneously.

That’s a big deal given that WhatsApp’s implementation is far more restrictive and only allows one smartphone to be logged in to an account at a time. It’s easy to see just why Telegram downloads have grown in recent years as regular improvements and features help it exceed over many other rivals.

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According to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, the messaging app had over 500 million active monthly users at the start of 2021. With WhatsApp experiencing issues and Face Messenger similarly affected by the core Facebook outage, Durov shared via his public Telegram channel that over 70 million joined the service as a result.

For Telegram to reach 1 billion downloads on the Play Store is no mean feat. However, it’s important to note that this doesn’t mean that there at 1 billion people out there using the app on a regular basis. This download figure also does not include those sideloading the APK from the official website either. That said, it’s nice to see another messaging alternative making waves.

More on the Google Play Store:

H/T Sir Henry

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Avatar for Damien Wilde Damien Wilde

Damien is a UK-based video producer for 9to5Google. Find him on Twitter: @iamdamienwilde. Email: damien@9to5mac.com