
Comparisons with Facebook are not just random guesses. Furthermore, the messaging service is said to be operating completely separate from VK and does not display ads. Interestingly, Telegram is presented as a non-profit organisation that relies on fundraising and donations. When looking at the functionality of Telegram, it is similar to WhatsApp, however the app is said to be working faster, more secure and free of charge.

This week, Telegram announced that they are now the number 1 app in eight new countries: Chile, Mexico, Netherlands, Ghana, Germany, Spain, Nicaragua and Paraguay. VK has approximately 245 million users, predominantly in Russia, Eastern Europe and Kazakhstan. VK was formerly known as vKontakte and is the largest social network of the Russian speaking world. Will our personal data be safer in the hands of Telegram Messenger? Telegram is developed by Nikolai and Pawel Durov, who also run VK. However, the question is whether Telegram is indeed a better option in terms of user privacy. Telegram is now the most popular iOS-app in the Netherlands and Germany. After word of Facebook buying WhatsApp came out, Telegram welcomed some 500,000 new users within a few days. In the Netherlands and Germany, the majority of WhatsApp “privacy refugees” shift to Telegram Messenger, a messaging app for iOS and Android that is quite similar to WhatsApp. He added that WhatsApp will remain free from advertising.

will not integrate the service witch the social network. Zuckerberg has promised WhatsApp users that the messaging service will remain a stand-alone company and that Facebook Inc.

The privacy scare has escalated to the point where Facebook-boss Mark Zuckerberg himself had to comment on this issue. Many people fear Facebook will use and exploit the personal details of WhatsApp user accounts in connection with data from the social network. The main concern of these WhatsApp users is privacy. After learning that messaging service WhatsApp has been taken over by Facebook, millions of users around the world have closed their account to join alternative services.
