Why Telegram Might Be The Most Important App You’re Not Using (Yet)
A messaging app with a billion users, built by 40 engineers, that has never sold your data, stood up to governments worldwide, and might just be the last bastion of digital freedom. Here’s why Pavel Durov’s Telegram deserves your attention.
The Founder Who Said No to $3 Billion (And Meant It)
Picture this: You’re 29 years old. You’ve built Russia’s version of Facebook. It’s worth $3 billion. You have 100 million users. And then the FSB—Russia’s intelligence service—walks into your office and demands you hand over the personal data of protesters.
Most people would negotiate. Pavel Durov refused.
Not once, but twice. When Russian authorities demanded he censor opposition leaders, he said no again. The result? He was fired from his own company, which was seized by Kremlin-aligned interests. So Durov fled Russia with $300 million in cash and a singular mission: build a messaging platform that no government could control.
That platform became Telegram.
“If you imagine the worst thing that can happen to you and then make yourself be comfortable with it, there is nothing more left to be afraid of.”— Pavel Durov
But this isn’t just another Silicon Valley success story. Durov’s personal discipline borders on the extreme: 300 push-ups and 300 squats every morning, five-hour lake swims, ice baths, and over 20 years without alcohol, coffee, tobacco, or any drugs. No phone except to test Telegram features. He allocates 11-12 hours for “sleep”—much of it spent lying awake, thinking, generating ideas in silence.
When I tell you this man is serious about principles, I mean he spent four days in a French jail cell with just a concrete bed—no pillow, no windows—rather than compromise Telegram’s encryption. And when French intelligence tried to use his detention to pressure him into censoring political voices, he didn’t just refuse. He publicly disclosed their attempts.
The Numbers That Don’t Make Sense (Until They Do)
Here’s where Telegram gets weird—in the best way possible:
- 1 billion users actively using the platform
- 40 core engineers running the whole operation
- ~100,000 servers distributed globally
- $1 billion in revenue (as of 2024)
- Zero dollars from selling user data
Let that sink in. Facebook has over 70,000 employees for 3 billion users—that’s about 42,857 users per employee. Telegram has approximately 18 million users per employee. It’s not just lean—it’s revolutionary.
How is this possible? Durov’s answer is counterintuitive: “If you hire too many people, 90% of their time will be spent coordinating rather than creating.” He’s even proven that firing an underperforming engineer sometimes increases team productivity because mediocre team members demotivate everyone else.
This philosophy comes from experience. Durov programmed the initial version of VK (Russia’s Facebook) entirely alone for the first year—handling backend, frontend, design, customer support, and marketing. When engineers ask for three weeks to build something, his response is legendary: “I built the first version of VK in two weeks. Why would you need three weeks?”
The Features You Didn’t Know You Were Missing
If you’re still using WhatsApp or iMessage, you might not realize what you’re giving up. Telegram didn’t just match its competitors—it consistently beat them to market by years.
Here’s What Telegram Offers That Others Don’t:
Groups of 200,000 people. WhatsApp caps at 1,024. Signal at 1,000. Need to coordinate a massive community? Telegram is your only option.
4GB file sharing. Signal limits you to 100MB. Even WhatsApp only allows 2GB. Telegram Premium users get 4GB, and everyone gets unlimited cloud storage. Your entire chat history from 2013? Still accessible instantly.
Channels with unlimited subscribers. Telegram channels receive 1 trillion views per month globally. It’s become a decentralized alternative to Twitter/X for news and community building.
Bots that actually do things. 400 million users (44% of the user base) interact with Telegram bots monthly. These aren’t toy features—they’re full applications running inside your messenger, from translation to payment processing to customer service automation.
Design that makes you feel something. When you delete a message, it doesn’t just disappear—it evaporates into tens of thousands of particles (the “Thanos snap” effect) while surrounding messages smoothly close the gap. The default background isn’t a static color—it’s a four-color gradient that constantly shifts, with a subtle pattern overlay. Durov personally reviewed several thousand variations before choosing it.
These details create what Durov calls “subconscious joy.” You don’t actively notice them, but you feel when people care.
But What About Privacy? (The Question That Actually Matters)
This is where things get interesting—and controversial.
Telegram uses cloud-based encryption by default, which means your messages sync seamlessly across all your devices. Your phone, tablet, laptop, and web browser all have instant access to your entire message history. This is the trade-off that makes Telegram actually usable for daily life.
For maximum security, Telegram offers Secret Chats with device-specific end-to-end encryption. These messages:
- Never touch Telegram servers
- Use 256-bit AES encryption
- Include screenshot detection
- Feature self-destruct timers
- Can’t be forwarded
Critics argue that end-to-end encryption should be default. Telegram’s response: that would break the features most people actually use daily. They’re letting you choose based on your threat model.
The Track Record Speaks for Itself:
- Zero data breaches in 11 years
- Zero private messages ever shared with governments
- Only 14 US data requests fulfilled in 2023 (affecting 108 users)
- Compare: Facebook fulfilled 88% of 59,996 requests in H1 2023 alone
Durov’s promise is unambiguous: “Telegram has never shared a single private message with anyone, including governments and intelligence services. We designed the system in a way that’s impossible. We would rather shut Telegram down in a certain country than do that.”
And unlike WhatsApp, whose code is closed-source and unverifiable, Telegram is the only popular messaging app with open-source reproducible builds for both Android and iOS. Anyone can verify that the app you download matches the source code on GitHub.
The Governments That Tried (and Failed) to Break Telegram
Here’s where Telegram’s story becomes a case study in resistance.
Russia (2018-2020): The Ban That Backfired
When Russia’s FSB demanded encryption keys in 2017, Telegram refused. Russia’s response was scorched earth: they blocked 19 million IP addresses, causing massive collateral damage to Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and legitimate Russian businesses.
The result? Telegram’s Russian user base doubled during the blockade. Russian government officials themselves were using Telegram for COVID-19 coordination because no alternative matched its capabilities. In June 2020, Russia quietly lifted the ban, admitting defeat.
Iran (2018-Present): Half a Country on VPNs
Iran banned Telegram in April 2018 after it refused to relocate servers to Iranian jurisdiction. The government invested heavily in creating “national messaging apps” to replace it. Every single one failed. Today, 40+ million Iranians—half the country’s population—still use Telegram via VPNs.
France (2024): The Arrest That Revealed Everything
In August 2024, Pavel Durov was arrested in France and charged with facilitating various crimes through insufficient content moderation. But here’s where it gets dark: during his detention, French intelligence officials tried to exploit his situation, asking him to censor conservative voices in Romania’s elections and block channels in Moldova.
Durov’s response? He not only refused—he publicly disclosed these conversations:
“If you think that because I’m stuck here, you can tell me what to do, you are very wrong. I would rather do the opposite every time.”
He told interrogators he’d “rather starve to death in prison than do something stupid.”
This isn’t theoretical courage. This is a founder willing to sacrifice everything for principles.
The Democracy Argument: Why Telegram Matters Beyond Convenience
While we in the West debate the finer points of encryption protocols, Telegram has become the communications backbone for democracy movements worldwide:
Hong Kong (2019): 110,000 users joined during pro-democracy protests. The platform’s large group capacity enabled leaderless organization at unprecedented scale.
Belarus (2020): When the government tried to restrict access during election protests, they failed. Protesters used Telegram to organize demonstrations and share real-time police movement information.
Ukraine (2022-Present): Ukraine’s Defense Ministry uses it for coordination. President Zelenskyy broadcasts to millions via Telegram channels. Civilian networks organize evacuations and humanitarian support.
Iran: 40+ million users organize opposition despite comprehensive government filtering.
From Turkey to Myanmar, from Spain’s Catalonian independence movement to India’s farmers’ protests, Telegram has become the default tool when governments want to silence dissent and people need to be heard.
Critics in Western countries sometimes miss this context. They see Telegram as “enabling criminals.” People facing actual oppression see it as “enabling survival.”
Both are true. The question is: is the freedom to organize, communicate, and resist tyranny worth the risk that bad actors also use the tool?
Telegram’s answer is yes—and then it builds the best content moderation systems possible within that framework.
The Content Moderation Balancing Act
Let’s address the elephant in the room: Telegram has faced criticism for insufficient moderation. But the numbers tell a more nuanced story:
As of 2024:
- Over 15.5 million groups and channels removed
- 710,000 CSAM-related channels removed in 2024 alone
- Over 100 million pieces of terrorist content removed (partnership with Saudi Arabia’s ETIDAL)
- Daily transparency reports via @ISISwatch channel
Telegram’s policy is clear: remove illegal content, protect political speech.
From their FAQ: “If criticizing the government is illegal in some country, Telegram won’t be a part of such politically motivated censorship… While we do block terrorist bots and channels, we will not block anybody who peacefully expresses alternative opinions.”
This distinction—between illegal content and unpopular speech—separates Telegram from platforms that remove content based on corporate policy, advertiser pressure, or government complaints rather than law.
After Durov’s August 2024 arrest, Telegram expanded its moderation efforts: enhanced reporting mechanisms, harder to discover illegal channels through search, faster response to valid law enforcement requests. These changes address legitimate concerns without creating surveillance infrastructure.
Critics comparing Telegram’s 50-person team to Facebook’s 15,000 content moderators miss the point. Telegram doesn’t aspire to moderate every conversation—it provides tools for communities to moderate themselves.
The Business Model That Doesn’t Hate You
Here’s something refreshing: Telegram makes money without selling your soul.
Revenue (2024): Over $1 billion from:
- Telegram Premium: $4-6/month for enhanced features (4GB uploads, faster speeds). Crucially, Premium and free users interact seamlessly—no degraded experience.
- Sponsored Messages: Only in large public channels (1,000+ subscribers), with 50% revenue share to creators. Compare: YouTube takes 45%, Instagram takes 100%.
- TON Blockchain Username Sales: Over $50 million in decentralized marketplace sales.
None of this involves selling user data, behavioral targeting, or psychological manipulation.
Compare to WhatsApp: “Free” because Meta monetizes your attention, social graph, and metadata for a $131 billion advertising empire.
Or Signal: Operates as non-profit dependent on donations, nearly ran out of money before a $50 million grant from WhatsApp’s co-founder.
Telegram found the third way: monetization without exploitation.
So… Should You Actually Switch?
Let’s be honest about the trade-offs.
You Should Use Telegram If:
- You want the best balance of features, privacy, and usability
- You need large groups or channels for community building
- You value speed and efficiency
- You want unlimited cloud storage for messages and files
- You appreciate beautiful, thoughtful design
- You want to support a platform built on principles rather than surveillance
- You need bots and automation for productivity
Stick with Signal If:
- You face state-level threats and need maximum security
- You want end-to-end encryption by default for everything
- You don’t care about features like large groups, bots, or channels
- You’re willing to sacrifice convenience for absolute privacy
Keep Using WhatsApp If:
- Everyone you know uses it and you don’t care about privacy
- You’re comfortable with Meta having access to your metadata
- You prefer familiarity over innovation
The honest truth? Most people don’t face threats that require Signal’s level of paranoia. Most people do appreciate Telegram’s superior features, speed, and thoughtful design. And increasingly, people are waking up to the reality that surveillance capitalism isn’t an acceptable price for “free” messaging.
The Bigger Picture: What Telegram Represents
Telegram isn’t just a messaging app. It’s proof that an alternative is possible.
We don’t have to accept that “free” means surveillance. We don’t have to choose between features and privacy. We don’t have to surrender to platforms that treat us as products to be sold to advertisers.
When you use Telegram, you’re voting for a different vision of the internet:
- Platforms that compete on quality rather than data exploitation
- Encryption that protects users rather than enabling surveillance
- Companies that serve customers rather than advertisers
- Founders who defend principles rather than maximize exit valuations
- Technology that amplifies human capability rather than manipulating psychology for profit
Pavel Durov spent four days in a jail cell rather than compromise these principles. He walked away from a $3 billion company rather than betray users. He publicly disclosed government pressure rather than quietly comply. He maintains a level of personal discipline that borders on superhuman specifically to ensure he can resist any pressure or temptation.
Telegram has 1 billion users not because of network effects, pre-installation, or anti-competitive bundling. It earned them by building something so genuinely superior that people choose it freely and recommend it to others.
“Privacy is not for sale, and human rights should not be compromised out of fear or greed.”— Pavel Durov
The Bottom Line
Is Telegram perfect? No. Content moderation at scale is genuinely hard. Balancing freedom and safety involves difficult trade-offs. The choice to make end-to-end encryption opt-in rather than default is debatable.
But here’s what’s not debatable:
- Telegram has never sold your data
- Telegram has never shared private messages with governments
- Telegram has stood up to more government pressure than any tech company in history
- Telegram consistently out-innovates competitors with a tiny team
- Telegram’s founder has proven he’d rather go to prison than compromise principles
In a digital world drowning in surveillance, exploitation, and manipulation, Telegram represents something increasingly rare: technology that serves human freedom rather than corporate power.
Maybe it’s time to give it a try.