The temporary restriction of access to Telegram in India has triggered a sharp increase in the popularity of VPN services and alternative messaging apps. According to data from analytical firms cited by TechCrunch, users began actively seeking ways to bypass the restrictions almost immediately after the blocking was announced.
Indian authorities restricted access to Telegram due to concerns over the spread of fraudulent schemes related to the retaking of the national NEET exam—one of the country’s largest entrance examinations. The government stated that the measure aims to combat the dissemination of fake exam materials and associated fraudsters.
According to Appfigures, on the very day the restrictions were announced, downloads of VPN apps in India reached their highest level since at least the start of 2025. The number of installations rose by 49%—from an average of 139,000 to 208,000 per day. The most notable growth was observed for Proton VPN, Turbo VPN, NordVPN, and ExpressVPN.
For instance, downloads of Proton VPN in the Indian App Store surged by 113%, while in Google Play they increased by 64%. For Turbo VPN, the growth was 85% and 35%, respectively.
Some VPN services also reported a sharp rise in user registrations. Proton noted that the number of new registrations from India was 120% higher than usual levels. The Canadian service Windscribe reported an approximate 100% increase in registrations.
At the same time, interest in alternative messaging apps also grew following the introduction of restrictions. Downloads of Signal increased by 72% in the App Store and by 322% in Google Play, while the iMe app, which is linked to the Telegram ecosystem, saw installations jump from a few hundred to over 50,000 in a single day.
Meanwhile, Telegram’s own audience hardly shrank. According to Sensor Tower, the number of daily active Telegram users in India on the day the restrictions were announced actually rose by 17%, marking the platform’s sharpest single-day growth in the country in recent years.
An additional indicator of heightened interest came from Cloudflare data. The company recorded a significant increase in DNS queries to Telegram domains after the restrictions were imposed. However, experts emphasize that a rise in queries does not necessarily mean successful connections to the service—it may reflect numerous user attempts to access the platform.
Telegram attempted to challenge the Indian authorities’ decision in court, arguing that it should be required to remove specific illegal content rather than restrict access to the entire platform. However, a court in Delhi upheld the government’s temporary measures.
According to Surfshark data, Telegram is now fully or partially restricted in dozens of countries worldwide, and nearly every such case is accompanied by a surge in the popularity of VPN services.
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