אילוסטרציה
אילוסטרציהצילום: ISTOCK

The storm surrounding the WhatsApp privacy update, part of which will allow WhatsApp and Facebook more access to user information, has not abated in the least. Various journalists and celebrities shared their decision to switch to Telegram and reduce or stop using WhatsApp, including Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and the richest man in the world.

Telegram said yesterday (Tuesday) that in the last 72 hours 25 million new users have joined, as opposed to the previous rate of 1.5 million per day.

Telegram users worldwide now exceed 500 million, although WhatsApp still boasts far more at nearly two billion users. Signal, a crowdfunded app endorsed by Edward Snowden and known for uncompromising security, has also seen a marked increase in new users, although its user base is still fairly small and it is less intuitive than Telegram.

WhatsApp, meanwhile, has seen no real loss in new users, and it seems that it will remain such a mainstay of communication that most people will find themselves required to use it.

WhatsApp has been trying to soften the blow, saying that it will never read messages and that the information shared is exclusively the names, profile pictures, and actuarial data about usage volume during the day.