Telegram becomes most downloaded app in Jan, highest installs from India

NEW DELHI: Driven by a renewed surge in India amid WhatsApp privacy row, Telegram has become the most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide for January 2021 with more than 63 million installs, 3.8 times its downloads in the same month a year ago, according to latest data released by app analytics firm Sensor Tower. The countries with the largest number of Telegram installs were India at 24 per cent, followed by Indonesia at 10 per cent. Telegram reached the top position in the overall downloads (non-game) on Google Play Store moving from ninth position in the previous month, December 2020. The popularity of Telegram increased dramatically af ter WhatsApp started sending notifications to over 400 million users in India in January asking them to either accept its new policy or see their accounts removed from February 8. In the wake of the controversy, the popularity of another app, Signal, also increased in India. According to the latest Sensor Tower data, Signal came third in the overall downloads worldwide for January, leaving Facebook and WhatsApp behind.