Highlights:
- Signal records 26.4 million (2.64 crore) downloads in India in two weeks
- In the same time period, Telegram recorded 9.1 million (81 lakh) download in India
- WhatsApp has not seen a drop in usage despite the unrest among the people
Signal, the app whose primary focus is Privacy, recorded a whopping 2.64 crore (26.4 million) downloads in India between 4th of January and 17th of January as per the data from app analytics company called Sensor Tower.
Signal and competitor Telegram have been topping the charts in both major application stores in India, i.e. Apple App Store and Google Play Store ever since WhatsApp announced the change to its Terms of Service (ToS) on the 6th of January.
Telegram, between the period of 4th January and 17th January, reported 91 lakh (9.1 million) downloads in India, a just of 160% compared to the previous period.
WhatsApp too recorded 5 million (50 lakh) new downloads from India during this period.
In a report, Will Cathcart, Global Head at WhatsApp said that the messaging platform did not see drop in the usage despite the unrest seen around the world.
On the 16th of January, the company had announced, that it would be delaying the new update to its ToS and Privacy Policy, which will lead to the sharing of users’ data from interactions between users and businesses, to May this year.
Also Read: 11 Best WhatsApp Alternative Messaging Apps You Must Try
The update was earlier slated to come into effect on the 8th of February.
Today, the Indian Government wrote a letter the WhatsApp where it asked the platform to withdraw the change completely. In the letter, the government said that not giving the users a choice to opt-out of such policies raised “grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens”.
On Monday, the Delhi High Court said using WhatsApp is a “voluntary thing” and users had the choice to not join the platform if they didn’t agree with its ToS.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said, “It is a private app. Don’t join it. It is a voluntary thing, don’t accept it. Use some other app,” to a petitioner who had challenged WhatsApp’s new privacy policy in court.
WhatsApp, the most used messaging platform in the world which is owned by Facebook, has received much heat from many of its users since it announced the changes to its Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Many thought that after the update, WhatsApp would start sharing the data from private interactions with its parent company, the company later came forward and clarified that only the interactions with businesses will be impacted by the change to the policy.
