For the first time, Telegram has overtaken WhatsApp as Russia’s most popular messenger. This was reported by MegaFon’s press department, based on data from its own subscribers (about 72 million people). Officials from Telegram declined to comment on the incident.

According to the survey, Telegram’s quick rise in popularity in the country began on February 24. According to the firm, Telegram’s share of overall messenger traffic climbed from 48 percent to 63 percent in the first two weeks of March. MegaFon’s press service did not provide any additional details.

Telegram’s quick rise in popularity in Russia is owing to restrictions imposed on other popular networks. The Russian government banned access to Facebook and Instagram earlier this month and ordered that Meta, the platform’s owner, be designated as an extremist organisation.

Telegram has also surpassed WhatsApp in terms of daily traffic consumption, according to accessible data. According to MegaFon, one Telegram user consumes 101 MB of traffic per day, whereas WhatsApp users consume 26 MB and Viber users consume only 8 MB.

Beeline announced that Telegram has surpassed WhatsApp as Russia’s most popular messenger in terms of traffic consumption. “Today, it has 15 times the amount of user traffic as WhatsApp.” Furthermore, because Telegram allows for the transmission of large-size messages, photographs, and videos, it’s worth comparing it to the entire Meta traffic, including Instagram. “With a coefficient of 2.14, Telegram wins in this comparison,” a Beeline official claimed. He also stated that WhatsApp traffic has declined threefold since the fall of 2020, whereas Telegram traffic has surged sixfold in the same time frame.

The Federal Supreme Court of Brazil has revoked its decision to restrict the Telegram messenger in the country, according to the Brazilian TV programme O Globo, citing Judge Alexandre de Moraes’ decision. According to the court’s decision, the messenger has fully cooperated with the court’s directives, allowing it to continue working in Brazil.

Due to the non-removal of banned content, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled last week that access to the app be restricted. After that, Pavel Durov, the messenger’s creator, explained it as a mistake with sending work correspondence. Durov also requested that the Brazilian court postpone the verdict for a few days to allow Telegram to remedy the situation.