WhatsApp's controversial new privacy policy has led to an exodus of thousands of users, fearing the instant messaging platform is sharing even more sensitive user data with its parent company, Facebook. WhatsApp's loss was every messaging platform's gain, it seems. Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, described the exodus as "the largest digital migration in human history." In back-to-back blog posts on his Telegram channel, Durov explained how his platform benefited from the WhatsApp craze. On January 14, he said: "We are witnessing perhaps the largest digital migration in human history" and boasted that two other world leaders - Brazilian and Turkish presidents Jairo Bolsonaro and Recep Tayyip Erdogan - have migrated to the platform. They join a long line of heads of state, including French President Emmanuel Macron. "We are honored that political leaders, as well as many public organizations, trust Telegram to combat misinformation and raise awareness about important issues in their society," Durov said. He also took the time to take Facebook by saying "unlike other networks" that its platform does not use non-transparent algorithms to determine whether or not a user will see content they have subscribed to. In a blog post earlier in the week, Durov said that Telegram surpassed 500 million active users in the first week of January and that growth continues to accelerate as the platform adds 25 million new ones. users within 72 hours (at the time of publication: January 12). Durov believes that people no longer want to trade their privacy for a free service and "no longer want to be held hostage by tech monopolies who seem to think they can get away with as long as their apps have." a critical mass of users.” WhatsApp has attempted to stem the flow of users leaving its platform, but it appears the damage has already been done, with several tech heavyweights including Edward Snowden and Elon Musk urging the public to Switching to more private messaging apps like Telegram and Signal WhatsApp finally relented, saying the controversial privacy update was delayed until sometime in May.