As WhatsApp suffered 210 minutes of downtime this weekend, upcoming communication app Telegram reported gaining almost 5 million new users.
Telegram is a messaging service similar to WhatsApp, but its makers Pavel and Nikolai Durov are bullish about providing a better, more honest and secure system than Facebook’s latest purchase. They describe it as ‘the world’s fastest messaging app – similar to IM apps like WhatsApp, but better in every detail.’
Unlike WhatsApp, your Telegram messages are kept heavily encrypted in the cloud. You can access your account from multiple devices once signed up, unlike WhatsApp where your account is tied to a device and phone number. Telegram claims it is not for profit, will remain that way, and ‘can never be sold.’ All of this seems designed to address criticisms of WhatsApp, although it’s worth remembering that WhatsApp was also founded with lofty claims against advertising or being sold to a tech giant.
Telegram’s rapid growth over the weekend pushed its servers too hard, resulting in a two hour break in services. On Twitter, the developers explained that they had not planned for more than a million new users per day, and getting five million was simply too much.
@dobbyloca We expected 1 million registrations per day max; 5 million daily signups seemed crazy.
— Telegram Messenger (@telegram) February 24, 2014
While Telegram got a boost this weekend, there’s no evidence that WhatsApp will suffer in the long term. 5 million new users for Telegram doesn’t mean fewer people are using WhatsApp, although the dramatic reaction to the three and a half hours of downtime illustrates how quickly the tide could turn.
We’ll keep following Telegram’s growth with interest
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[Source: Twitter]
