Telegram, it’s not just for your journo friends anymore.
Driving the news: Encrypted messaging app Telegram is mulling a U.S.-listed IPO, its owner Pavel Durov told the Financial Times, after surpassing 900 million monthly active users and projecting it will hit profitability within the next year thanks to newfound ad dollars.
- While Telegram is still behind the leading encrypted messaging app WhatsApp (with 1.8 billion users), it’s seen remarkable growth, adding 400 million users since 2021.
Catch-up: Durov — who has been called “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg” for co-founding Russia’s biggest social media site and for doing tech CEO-brained stuff like giving up food in order to come up with new ideas — first developed Telegram in 2013 with his brother.
- It’s grown exponentially since, offering a safe haven for users in repressive regimes and a focus on privacy that’s attracted users skeptical of Big Tech’s data collection.
Why it matters: While Telegram is a vital messaging service for many, some cybercrime experts claim the app is a new, more accessible alternative dark web where criminals hock their wares — its security, anonymity, and easy searchability make it ideal for illicit activities.
- This usability has led to what one report called the “democratization” of cybercrime — which has gotta be one of the worst kinds of democratization — by enabling a platform full of tutorials, hackers-for-hire, and phishing kits at affordable prices.
Bottom line: An IPO comes with all sorts of disclosures on risks and federally mandated regulations. Telegram’s IPO will be instructive, showing whether or not it’s possible for an app with extremely hands-off moderation to list without making serious changes.—QH