Telegram ban in India drives users to VPNs and rival apps

India's temporary ban on messaging app Telegram, imposed over concerns about exam-related fraud, has led to a significant increase in the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) and alternative messaging apps. App intelligence firm Appfigures reported that on Tuesday, the day India announced the Telegram restriction, VPN app downloads in the country reached their highest level since at least the start of 2025. Downloads of major VPN apps rose 49% from a recent daily average of 139,000 to 208,000.

Proton VPN and Turbo VPN recorded some of the largest increases, with Proton VPN downloads on Apple's App Store in India jumping 113%, while Turbo VPN downloads rose 85%. On Google Play, Proton VPN downloads climbed 64% and Turbo VPN downloads increased 35%. NordVPN's App Store downloads increased 41%, while ExpressVPN downloads on Google Play rose 31%.

The surge pushed several VPN services up India's app-store charts. Proton VPN climbed from 18th to 5th in Apple's Utilities rankings between June 16 and June 18, while its Google Play ranking rose from 8th to 2nd in the Tools category. The spike in VPN demand followed India's decision to temporarily restrict Telegram until June 22 over concerns that fraudsters were using the platform to target candidates ahead of a re-test for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), the country's largest entrance examination by applicant volume.

The Indian government said the measure was needed to prevent the spread of fake exam papers and related scams. Telegram has challenged the order in the Delhi High Court, arguing that authorities should target specific content rather than block the entire platform. Proton said daily registrations from India rose 120% above baseline levels on Wednesday, after hourly registrations had already spiked 150% on Tuesday evening following the Telegram restriction.

Canadian VPN service provider Windscribe reported a similar trend, with signups from India peaking roughly 100% above baseline levels, while first-time downloads of its iOS app in the country rose about 89%. The trend was not limited to a handful of VPN providers. Sensor Tower reported that downloads across the VPN app category in India rose 10% day-over-day on June 17, reversing a decline seen over the previous two weeks.

Users also appeared to be exploring alternatives to Telegram, with Appfigures reporting that downloads of Signal in India rose 72% on Apple's App Store and 322% on Google Play following the restriction, while Viber's App Store downloads increased 216%. Telegram-linked messaging app iMe recorded one of the sharpest jumps, with its Google Play downloads rising from a recent daily average of about 827 to 50,900 on June 16. Yet the restriction did not immediately translate into lower Telegram usage, with Sensor Tower reporting that Telegram's daily active users in India rose 17% on the day the measure was announced - the app's largest day-over-day increase in the country since a widespread outage of Meta's services in 2021.