Telegram today announced that they have hit the 400 million subscribers and shared a list of new features that it would be offering to its users during 2020. The list includes secure group video calls, a feature that its three main rivals had for some time now.
In a blog post, Telegram founder Pavel Durov said "Video calls in 2020 are much like messaging in 2013. There are apps that are either secure or usable, but not both. We'd like to fix that, and we will focus on bringing you secure group video calls in 2020." This was obviously a swipe at Zoom which is facing security concerns aplenty as its user base grew exponentially in the post-lockdown world.
However, there was no comment on what delayed the move towards video calling, especially since its main rivals, Messenger, WhatsApp and Snapchat had already launched the video calling services long time ago.
The company said that each day 1.5 million users were signing up for Telegram so the journey to 500 million users should be a pretty short one. WhatsApp, which boasts of 400 million users just in India, has more than two billion users globally. And it is often the case that Telegram witnesses a surge in user base when WhatsApp reports an outage of some sort.
In the past, Durov has spared no words to criticise WhatsApp for its security breaches claiming that people shouldn't have been surprised when reports of spyware being installed by it surfaced last year. In fact, several users shifted allegiance due to a range of features such as folders and cloud storage.
However, these very same features caused trouble for Telegram as these were used to distribute and download illegal copies of movies, songs etc. The privacy issue has remained a concern for some time now.
Why WhatsApp will never be secure https://t.co/kHfTiWdNQwMay 15, 2019
As part of its offerings, Telegram today revealed a 20,000-strong sticker gallery and a new attachment menu for Android. As part of creating stickiness amongst users, it also announced the creation of a database of educational tests for students with an offer of 400,000 Euros to creators for coming up with such tests.
The question though is did Telegram leave all of its innovations for too late? Or does it still stand a chance to compete in this crowded market?
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