Ramai Orang Pindah ke Aplikasi Pengganti WhatsApp, Ini Alasannya
- Aplikasi pesan singkat WhatsApp akan memiliki pesaing kuat. Telegram digadang-gadang akan mencatat milestone baru dalam waktu dekat yang akan segera menghimpun 1 miliar pengguna aktif bulanan. Sementara WhatsApp sendiri memiliki lebih dari 2 miliar pengguna aktif bulanan hingga akhir 2023 lalu.
Telegram merupakan perusahaan berbasis Dubai yang didirikan pengusaha asal Rusia, Pavel Durov. Pada 2014 lalu, Durov meninggalkan Rusia lantaran menolak tuntutan untuk memblokir suara komunitas oposisi di platform media sosial VK miliknya kala itu. Ia lalu menjual VK dan mendirikan Telegram.
"Pengguna aktif bulanan kami akan tembus 1 miliar pada tahun ini," kata Durov, dikutip dari Reuters, Sabtu (27/4/2024).
"Telegram telah menyebar luas seperti kebakaran hutan," ia menambahkan.
Lebih lanjut, Purov mengatakan dirinya telah menerima tekanan dari beberapa negara untuk membatasi pertukaran informasi tertentu.
Namun, ia menegaskan Telegram yang kini memiliki 900 juta pengguna aktif akan terus menjadi platform netral yang tak terlibat dalam konflik geopolitik. Hal ini juga yang menjadi daya tarik platform tersebut untuk digunakan lebih banyak orang di seluruh dunia.
Laporan Financial Times pada Maret lalu mengatakan Telegram bisa jadi akan melantai di bursa AS setelah perusahaan meraup keuntungan.
Telegram masuk dalam jajaran platform internet populer, bersanding dengan Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, dan WeChat.
Saat Rusia menginvasi Ukraina pada 2022 lalu, Telegram menjadi salah satu sumber informasi yang tak menyaring konten-konten di dalamnya. Meski dinilai transparan, tetapi banyak juga konten bermuatan disinformasi yang tersebar di platform tersebut.
Durov menjamin sistem enkripsi pada Telegram akan membuat pertukaran informasi di dalamnya benar-benar terlindungi dan bebas intervensi pemerintah.
"Saya lebih baik bebas ketimbang tunduk pada perintah siapa pun," ujarnya.
Menurut Pavel, ada berbagai cara yang dilancarkan pemerintah untuk mengelabui enkripsi Telegram. Salah satunya datang dari FBI.
Ia mengatakan FBI pernah mencoba merekrut engineer Telegram untuk membobol backdoor platformnya. FBI tak berkomentar soal tuduhan ini.
Namun, ia mengatakan tekanan untuk menjunjung kebebasan perbedapat dan berkekspresi sebenarnya tak hanya datang dari pemerintah. Tantangan itu justru lebih banyak datang dari rivalnya seperti Apple dan Alphabet.
"Dua platform tersebut benar-benar bisa menyensor apa saja yang Anda baca, serta mengakses semua yang ada di smartphone Anda," kata dia.
Durov memilih berdomisili di Dubai karena menurutnya Uni Arab Emirat adalah negara netral yang ingin berteman dengan siapa saja dan tak berafiliasi dengan pemerintahan superpower. Ia merasa aman menjalankan perusahaan netral di negara tersebut.
Many people are switching to WhatsApp replacement applications, this is the reason
- The short messaging application WhatsApp will have strong competitors. Telegram is predicted to record a new milestone in the near future, which will soon gather 1 billion monthly active users. Meanwhile, WhatsApp itself has more than 2 billion monthly active users by the end of 2023.
Telegram is a Dubai-based company founded by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov. In 2014, Durov left Russia because he refused demands to block the voices of the opposition community on his VK social media platform at that time. He then sold VK and founded Telegram.
"Our monthly active users will reach 1 billion this year," said Durov, quoted by Reuters, Saturday (27/4/2024).
"Telegram has spread like wildfire," he added.
Furthermore, Purov said he had received pressure from several countries to limit the exchange of certain information.
However, he emphasized that Telegram, which now has 900 million active users, will continue to be a neutral platform that is not involved in geopolitical conflicts. This is also what attracts the platform to be used by more people around the world.
A Financial Times report in March said Telegram could be listed on a US stock exchange after the company made a profit.
Telegram is included in the ranks of popular internet platforms, alongside Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Telegram became one of the sources of information that did not filter its content. Even though it is considered transparent, there is also a lot of content containing disinformation spread on the platform.
Durov guarantees that the encryption system on Telegram will make the exchange of information in it completely protected and free of government intervention.
"I would rather be free than subject to anyone's orders," he said.
According to Pavel, there are various methods used by the government to circumvent Telegram encryption. One of them came from the FBI.
He said the FBI once tried to recruit Telegram engineers to break into the platform's backdoor. The FBI has not commented on these allegations.
However, he said the pressure to uphold freedom of opinion and expression did not actually only come from the government. These challenges actually come more from rivals such as Apple and Alphabet.
"These two platforms can really censor everything you read, as well as access everything on your smartphone," he said.
Durov chose to live in Dubai because according to him the United Arab Emirates is a neutral country that wants to be friends with everyone and is not affiliated with superpower governments. He feels safe running a neutral company in that country.
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