PANews reported on March 19 that Telegram founder Pavel Durov posted on his personal channel that Telegram now has more than 1 billion monthly active users, making it the world's second largest communication app (excluding China's unique WeChat). User activity is also rising, with an average of each user opening Telegram 21 times a day and using it for 41 minutes a day. At the same time, Telegram's revenue has grown significantly, with profits reaching $547 million in 2024. Durov also said that compared with WhatsApp, the latter is just a cheap imitation of Telegram. Although WhatsApp tried to copy its innovations and invested heavily in lobbying and public relations, Telegram has remained independent and successful.