Telegram

Telegram is a free instant messaging service for use on smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and PCs, developed in Russia. Telegram users can exchange text messages, voice messages, photos, videos and documents, as well as use voice and video calling to other Telegram users. Telegram is also considered a social network. Chats can be client-server encrypted by default, cloud-based or optionally end-to-end encrypted as "secret chats". For more information, see Chats and Security of Chats.

According to the developer team, its base is in Dubai, but no imprint is given on the website. In 2016, the Telegram headquarters was located in Berlin - also according to information on the Telegram FAQ page. The founder Pawel Durow is said to have lived in Berlin when he founded Telegram in 2013 and published the app. Durow and his employees see themselves as digital nomads.

Telegram is one of the most popular messengers in Germany and worldwide and was the app with the most downloads globally in January 2021. By August 2021, the app had been downloaded more than 1 billion times worldwide.

As of June 2022, there were more than 700 million monthly active Telegram users worldwide.