Telegram founder welcomes Erdoğan in 'largest digital migration in history'

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After WhatsApp's new data-sharing terms caused controversy, many people moved to other messaging apps in what Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, called "the largest digital migration in human history."

Presidents of Turkey and Brazil, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Jair Bolsonaro, are among the new users of the Russia-based app, Durov said in a post on his Telegram channel. 

"We are honored that political leaders, as well as numerous public organizations, rely on Telegram to combat misinformation and spread awareness about important issues in their societies," he said.

Presidents of several countries, including France, Ukraine, Mexico, and the prime minister of Israel, have already been using the app, Durov noted.

Although WhatsApp has stated that the new policy won't affect how it shares data of its users with Facebook, its family company, Turkey opened two probes into the messaging app, one for violating competition rules and one for privacy concerns.

The head of the Presidency's Digital Transformation Office accused WhatsApp of "digital fascism" and recommended Telegram and BiP, a domestic app, instead.

The Presidency Communications Directorate announced on Tuesday (January 12) that Erdoğan joined both apps, sharing links to his channels.

In terms of privacy, WhatsApp and Telegram offer similar protection as both apps provide end-to-end encryption of messages whereas BiP doesn't have that feature.

BiP is developed by the Turkcell GSM operator, whose controlling stake is at the Turkey Wealth Fund (TWF), which is chaired by Erdoğan. (EKN/VK)