Pavel Durov calls WhatsApp ‘cheap copycat,’ launches $50K contest to showcase Telegram’s superiority

4 weeks ago

Telegram’s laminitis Pavel Durov has taken nonstop purpose astatine Meta-owned WhatsApp, calling it a “cheap copycat” and accusing it of launching smear campaigns against his platform.

His May 15 comments accompanied the announcement of a caller $50,000 contention to showcase Telegram’s features. The contention will run until May 26.

‘Watered-down’

Durov said the contention volition showcase Telegram’s long-standing innovation and enactment successful messaging features.

According to Durov, WhatsApp users are stuck with delayed versions of features that Telegram had already introduced years ago. He asserted that the contention would assistance pass users and displacement nationalist attraction to Telegram’s relation arsenic a trendsetter successful the messaging space.

The Telegram laminitis said:

“It’s clip to aftermath WhatsApp users up. They’re trapped successful the past, utilizing late, watered-down versions of innovations Telegram pioneered agelong before.”

The determination marks a nationalist escalation successful the long-standing rivalry betwixt the 2 messaging giants.

While WhatsApp boasts implicit 3 cardinal users worldwide and is wide adopted for its end-to-end encryption and caller privateness upgrades, Durov insists that Telegram remains the existent innovator.

Superior innovation

Durov listed implicit 30 features Telegram launched earlier WhatsApp to enactment his claims, including channels, editable messages, disappearing chats, precocious stickers, and interactive polls. He further emphasized that the database was lone partial and argued that galore Telegram innovations stay unavailable connected WhatsApp.

Durov urged contestants successful the contention to make abbreviated videos that show Telegram’s technological pb and privacy-first approach.

He added that the submissions should amusement however Telegram’s features were archetypal and arrived years earlier WhatsApp implemented akin tools. He stated:

“The extremity is simple: make a viral video showing however Telegram has ever been years up of its inexpensive copycat — WhatsApp.”

Over the years, Telegram has grown rapidly, particularly wrong the crypto community, acknowledgment to its unfastened level and committedness to security.

Notably, Durov has consistently reiterated Telegram’s refusal to compromise encryption standards, adjacent stating that the institution would alternatively exit markets than present surveillance backdoors.

The station Pavel Durov calls WhatsApp ‘cheap copycat,’ launches $50K contention to showcase Telegram’s superiority appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.

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