Finance
By: Shree1news, 13 JAN 2021
Based on information from app analytics firm Sensor Tower, Signal led the pack with over 23 lakh new downloads between January 6 and January 10 whereas Telegram clocked more than 16 lakh new downloads in the same period.
As WhatsApp started sending notifications to over 400 million customers in India last week asking them to either accept its new policy or see their accounts removed from February 8, it came as a blessing in disguise for its rivals as Signal and Telegram saw over 40 lakh new customers signing up within a few days, and the quantity is fast growing.
In the meantime, WhatsApp`s downloads fell by 35 per cent over the January 6 to January 10 time-period, with 1.3 million new downloads.
Between January 1 to January 5, WhatsApp had clocked 2 million new downloads.
The surge came as users questioned the upcoming WhatsApp Terms of Service and privacy policy, triggering a nationwide debate.
The rush to join Signal was so high that it led to overload on its servers.
“Verification codes are at present delayed across a number of providers as a result of so many new people are attempting to join Signal right now (we can barely register our excitement). We are working with carriers to resolve this as quickly as possible. Hang in there,” Signal had tweeted.
The encrypted messaging service additionally climbed to the top spot within the free apps category of the App Store in a number of countries, including India.
The official Twitter handle of Signal shared a screenshot, showing it placed above WhatsApp on the top spot in India.
“Look what you have done,” it tweeted.
Together with India, it became the top downloaded app in Germany, France, Austria, Finland, Hong Kong, and Switzerland as well.
Signal earlier noticed a significant surge in new users signing up for its platform after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted to his 41.5 million followers to use Signal and apparently shun WhatsApp.
Source:A-N
