Facebook, WhatsApp outage saw 70 million users joining Telegram, says founder Durov

In a post on his Telegram channel, Durov wrote, “The daily growth rate of Telegram exceeded the norm by an order of magnitude, and we welcomed over 70 million refugees from other platforms in one day. I am proud of how our team handled the unprecedented growth because Telegram continued to work flawlessly for the vast majority of our users. That said, some users in the Americas may have experienced slower speed than usual as millions of users from these continents rushed to sign up for Telegram at the same time.”

He further added, “I ask our existing users to say hi to their newly arrived friends, help them unpack, and let them know what we have in stock. Make sure they stick around and see why Telegram is light years ahead of the competition.”

Durov also said some users in America may have experienced slower speeds as millions rushed to sign up at the same time, but that the service worked as usual for the majority.

Telegram had also seen a flux of users from across the world when WhatsApp’s new privacy policy had caused outrage globally. Its installs had grown massively to nearly 161 million, according to data from Sensor Tower.

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said the Facebook outage demonstrated the repercussions of relying on just a few big players and underscored the need for more rivals.

Russia said the incident showed Moscow was right to develop its own sovereign internet platforms and social networks.

WhatsApp’s nearly six-hour long outage on Monday hit trading of assets from cryptocurrencies to Russian oil, market players said, although a quick shift to alternative platforms such as Telegram limited severe disruption.

With Reuters inputs