OAKLAND, California: Encrypted messaging apps Signal and Telegram are seeing huge upticks in downloads from Apple and Google’s app stores. Facebook-owned WhatsApp, by contrast, is seeing its growth decline following a fiasco that forced the company to clarify a privacy update it had sent to users.
Mobile app analytics firm Sensor Tower said Wednesday that Signal saw 17.8 million app downloads on Apple and Google during the week of Jan. 5 to Jan. 12. That’s a 61-fold increase from just 285,000 the previous week. Telegram, an already-popular messaging app for people around the world, saw 15.7 million downloads in the Jan. 5 to Jan. 12 period, roughly twice the 7.6 million downloads it saw the previous week.
WhatsApp, meanwhile, saw downloads shrink to 10.6 million, down from 12.7 million the week before.
Experts fear the shift may reflect a rush of conservative social media users seeking alternatives to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and the now-shuttered right-wing site Parler. The mainstream sites suspended President Donald Trump last week and have tightened enforcement on violent incitement and hate speech.
Parler, meanwhile, was unceremoniously booted from the Internet after Apple and Google banned it from their app stores for failing to moderate incitement. Amazon then cut Parler off from its its cloud-hosting service. Experts worry that these moves could lead to more ideological splintering and further hide extremism in the dark corners of the Internet, making it harder to track and counteract.
WhatsApp didn’t do itself any favors when it recently told users that if they don’t accept a new privacy policy by Feb. 8, they’ll be cut off. The notice referenced the data WhatsApp shares with Facebook, which while not entirely new, may have struck some users that way.
Confusion about the notice, complicated by Facebook’s history of privacy mishaps, forced WhatsApp to clarify its update to users this week. The company said that its update “does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family in any way,” adding that the policy changes were necessary to allow users to message businesses on WhatsApp. The notice “provides further transparency about how we collect and use data,” the company said.
WhatsApp is still by far the most popular messaging app of the three, and so far there’s no evidence of a mass exodus. Sensor Tower estimates that Signal has been installed about 58.6 million times globally since 2014. In that same period Telegram has seen about 755.2 million installations and WhatsApp a whopping 5.6 billion — almost eight times as many as Telegram.
WhatsApp growth slumps as rivals Signal, Telegram rise
https://arab.news/rqf5b
WhatsApp growth slumps as rivals Signal, Telegram rise
- Signal saw 17.8 million app downloads on Apple and Google during the week of Jan. 5 to Jan. 12
- Telegram saw 15.7 million downloads in the Jan. 5 to Jan. 12 period, twice the previous week's downloads
Independent Arabia celebrates 7th anniversary with global journalism awards
- Journalist Aya Mansour received the Kurt Schork International Journalism Award for her rigorous investigative reporting from Iraq on highly sensitive issues
- ‘SRMG’s support enabled us to reach and connect with massive readership – These awards belong to every journalist:’ Editor-in-Chief Ahdwan Al-Ahmari
LONDON: Independent Arabia on Saturday marked seven years since its launch as a platform for “distinctive content and a bold editorial vision,” having made history as the first Arabic digital outlet to secure licensing rights from an international publication, London-based newspaper The Independent.
Over this seven-year period, the news platform has established itself as a meaningful force within Arab media institutions through political, economic, cultural, and lifestyle coverage that reimagines news delivery and journalistic purpose. By innovating content presentation and format, it has tangibly contributed to reshaping Arabic digital journalism’s landscape.
Recalling the 2019 founding, Editor-in-Chief Ahdwan Al-Ahmari said: “Our fundamental objective was connecting with the widest possible Arab readership. SRMG’s backing enabled us to achieve substantial audience reach through correspondents positioned throughout the Arab region and internationally.”
Since its launch, Independent Arabia has won 11 awards. Its latest came in January 2025 when staff journalist Aya Mansour received the 24th Kurt Schork International Journalism Award in the Local Reporter category for her rigorous investigative reporting from Iraq on highly sensitive issues.
Al-Ahmari dedicated the accolade to every Independent Arabia journalist and media professionals across the Arab world, “particularly our colleagues lost in Yemen and Palestine. I specifically honor Maryam Abu Daqqa, our journalist colleague killed while documenting Gaza’s reality through photography—posthumously recognized at the highest level in Vienna by the International Press Institute with the ‘World Press Freedom Hero’ award.”
“Our initial tagline was ‘Independent Enriches You,’” Al-Ahmari recalled. “As our understanding matured, we recognized that ‘we lie in the details’—prompting the change. Within news media, particularly across SRMG’s distinguished portfolio, integrated coverage matters most. The real competitive edge comes from delivering analytical depth unique to each publication.”
Observing this seventh anniversary milestone, Al-Ahmari expressed appreciation for “everyone contributing publicly and behind the scenes—designers, correspondents, editors, administrative teams—every individual whose dedication keeps us leading the field.”
