Telegram Surpasses 500 Million Users Following WhatsApp Exodus

Telegram has officially reached another important milestone, as the service now has more than 500 million monthly active users, obviously as a result of the WhatsApp exodus. WhatsApp revealed recently that some of the user data is shared with Facebook and other companies, and the service forced users to accept this updated policy to continue running the messaging app. Many users, however, decided to switch to one of the many alternatives out there, and Telegram is one of them, with founder Pavel Durov explaining the transition sends a clear message to tech giants out there. “People no longer want to exchange their privacy for free services. They no longer want to be held hostage by tech monopolies that seem to think they can get away with anything as long as their apps have a critical mass of users,” Durov said in a post today. “With half a billion active users and accelerating growth, Telegram has become the largest refuge fo...