Telegram has surpassed 1 billion active users, according to the message posted on the founder Pavel Durov’s channel.
Telegram also brought in a staggering $547 million in revenue last year. In addition to creating an achievement in occurrence with profit-making, it also strengthens Telegram in developing markets for global messaging applications.
Telegram’s Growth and Profitability
Telegram boss Durov, who earlier said that Telegram was now profit-making, revealed figures for the first time. The company registered a profit of $547 million in 2024 and showed quite some success despite being in stiff competition with WhatsApp.
And while Telegram brags about these bottom-line figures, the free messaging application is busy improving its features for both businesses and users. Capitalizing on all these, Telegram is planning to lure developers and brands to construct decentralized applications, pay for services within the application, and utilize the company’s blockchain-based TON (The Open Network) to enable in-app purchases and other monetization alternatives outside mainstream social networks.
Durov’s Jab at WhatsApp
His clear target – in the announcement – was WhatsApp, calling it “a cheap, watered-down imitation” of Telegram and chucking accusations at Meta for not innovating but instead copying Telegram’s features after burning billions on lobbying and PR campaigns.
In a statement, Durov said, “Before us stands WhatsApp – a so-called cheap, watered-down imitation of Telegram. They have wasted so many years and have been spending billions in lobbying and PR campaigns, trying to hold us down by copying our innovations. They failed. Telegram grew, became profitable, and – unlike our competitor – retained its independence.”
This is not the first time he has slammed WhatsApp; over the years, he has positioned Telegram as more secure and rich with features, pointing fingers at the security flaws of WhatsApp and privacy issues.
France Investigation and Durov’s Return to Dubai
Durov’s notification comes hot on the heels of his recent trip back to Dubai after being cleared of an investigation in France. The authorities were purportedly investigating Telegram for its facilitation of organized fraud, illegal transactions, and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Durov spent a couple of days in police custody in August and then was released, but no charges were formally filed against him.
Can Telegram Overtake WhatsApp?
Even though Telegram has been growing in leaps and bounds of late, it continues to fall short as far as competition is concerned since WhatsApp, with its more than 2 billion users across the globe, still rules the messaging dominion. Places like Africa, Latin America, and India will continue to be places where WhatsApp is the default messaging app due to the heavy integration of the app with local businesses and services. Telegram, however, has been breaking through these barriers, especially among privacy-conscious individuals, crypto enthusiasts, and digital communities.
With some of the new features that Telegram has been bringing up in terms of profit, it is going to be a little bit favorable for the platform when competing against WhatsApp. Whether this will ever challenge Meta’s overtaking remains to be seen.
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