Telegram, a freeware, cross-platform, cloud-based instant messaging software, and service has today surpassed 500 million monthly active users. This is after a recent update to WhatsApp’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service prompted users sparked by concerns over user data privacy to seek alternatives.

Also Read: Telegram Vs Signal: Which Messager to Choose Over WhatsApp

According to the platform, in the past 72 hours alone, more than 25 million new users from around the world joined Telegram.

“In the first week of January, Telegram surpassed 500 million monthly active users. After that it kept growing: 25 million new users joined Telegram in the last 72 hours alone. These new users came from across the globe – 38pc from Asia, 27pc from Europe, 21pc from Latin America, and 8pc from MENA.” Telegram founder Pavel Durov said in a statement.

“People no longer want to exchange their privacy for free services. They no longer want to be held hostage by tech monopolies that seem to think they can get away with anything as long as their apps have a critical mass of users.” He continued.

Also Read: Your Messages and Calls are Safe, WhatsApp Now Says

Currently, Whatsapp is the largest messaging service in the world with over 2 billion monthly active users followed by Telegram. New entrant Signal has also been gaining new users exponentially in the last few days with about 10-20 million monthly active users.