Encrypted instant messaging app Telegram hits 100 million users

Telegram started its activity in 2013, under the supervision of Pavel Durov and Nikolai Durov, his brother.

Telegram has shown a 60 percent increase in the number of users in the past nine months.

In Russia, Telegram is often the subject of official discussion.

Telegram, the instant-messaging app, which was released two and half year back, now has over 100 million monthly active users.

Telegram, a tenth the size of Facebook-owned rival WhatsApp, has caught on in many corners of the globe including for a while with Islamic State as an ultra-secure way to quickly upload and share videos, texts and voice messages.

According to Bloomberg, the service now conveying 15 billion messages a day, up from 12 billion in September, Durov said. Despite a court order, Apple is digging in its heels and refusing to comply. The company said past year it was “disturbed to learn” that followers of Isis had been using Telegram to communicate and spread propaganda.

When asked his opinion on the issue, Durov said he “definitely” sided with Apple CEO Tim Cook in opposing such a requirement.

But the growth of Telegram has came with a fair amount of scrutiny as the app has been accused of facilitating and hiding terrorist communication.

Since then, Telegram has had only partial success with efforts to dislodge online jihadists from its platform, similar to the struggle that bigger sites such as Twitter and Facebook have struggled to control.

Durov broke down the figure and explained that about 38 million users joined the app since May 2015.

“This set of values does not necessarily prevent us from earning money”, Durov told Reuters.

Telegram has also been at the center of disputes between security and privacy advocates.