Telegram tops WhatsApp traffic volume in Russia for first time

Private message app Telegram has for the first time surpassed WhatsApp in traffic volume in Russia.

Telegram’s share in total instant messaging traffic reached 60%-80% in by the beginning of 2023, the Russian TASS news agency reported on Monday, citing a report from local newspaper Vedomosti.

A representative of mobile operator Megafon told the newspaper that Telegram has been top in traffic in Russia since last March, the report said.

In March 2022, a Moscow court banned Meta-owned social networks Facebook and Instagram in Russia over “extremist activity,” but said the ruling would not affect WhatsApp.

Telegram’s daily user count stood at 48.8 million people, or around 40% of Russia’s internet users, this month, versus WhatsApp’s 76 million daily users, the report said.