Telegram, the controversial privacy-focused messaging platform, is on track to turn a profit for the first time in its history. This turn of events follows the arrest of Telegram’s founder Pavel Durov in France over charges of facilitating illegal activities on the platform.
A long time supporter of free speech, Durov has denied all charges and claims that holding Telegram accountable for its users’ actions is ridiculous. Durov was further charged with not cooperating with authorities after his claim. In a show of support after his arrest Telegram downloads soared through the roof and it briefly secured second place in the U.S. App Store under the social apps category.
After Durov’s arrest however, Telegram has been changing its stance on certain policies. For starters Telegram will now provide user data to authorities including IP addresses and phone numbers. The platform has also been experimenting with subscriptions and advertising which is a major reason for its profitability this year.
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Telegram has long remained a controversial platform because of the anonymity it provides its users. While this has helped many evade censorship in authoritarian regimes it has also led to the creation of much less savory communities. One of the major charges levied against Pavel Durov claims that he facilitated illegal transactions.
There are countless Telegram channels which share pirated media, images and videos of battlefields, avenues for unethical activities and much worse content. However, as someone who has used Telegram extensively back in the day, I also find it a bit odd to hold the aforementioned activities against the platform itself.
Discord, for example, also has some truly awful servers. And who knows what goes on in end-to-end encrypted WhatsApp chats? Telegram seems to have garnered a much worse public perception because it initially gained popularity as the platform you went to when you didn’t want to be traced.
Nevertheless, it appears that playing nice with the authorities has helped Telegram secure a profit. It’s too early to tell if Telegram’s relaxed privacy policies will turn off a portion of its user base. But if the app is turning a profit for the first time in its life I doubt the admins would care much either way.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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