Telegram ban in India triggers VPN download surge, Signal and Viber gain users
Telegram's temporary restriction in India has led to a sharp rise in VPN downloads, while messaging apps like Signal and Viber are seeing more users.
Published By: Shubham Arora | Published: Jun 21, 2026, 10:09 PM (IST)
The temporary restriction on Telegram in India has had an immediate impact, not just on the messaging platform but also on other apps. Soon after access to Telegram was limited, several VPN services climbed app store rankings, while rival messaging apps also saw a noticeable increase in downloads.
The restriction was introduced ahead of the NEET (UG) re-test after authorities raised concerns that Telegram was being used to circulate fake exam papers and run related scams. The government said the move was temporary and would remain in place until June 22. Telegram challenged the decision in the Delhi High Court, arguing that specific channels could be blocked instead of restricting the entire platform. However, the court upheld the temporary order.
VPN apps see a sudden jump
The biggest change was seen in VPN downloads. According to app intelligence firm Appfigures, downloads of major VPN apps in India rose by nearly 49 per cent on the day the restriction was announced, increasing from an average of around 1.39 lakh downloads to over 2.08 lakh.
Several VPN providers also reported higher activity. Proton VPN said registrations from India increased sharply after the restriction came into effect. The company noted that daily registrations were up by around 120 per cent, while hourly sign-ups briefly touched an even higher spike. Windscribe also reported that sign-ups from India almost doubled compared to its usual levels. Surfshark, meanwhile, said it had recorded around a 30 per cent increase in connectivity from India.
The surge was also reflected in app store rankings. VPN apps like Proton VPN and Turbo VPN moved up significantly on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store over the next couple of days. Industry experts say this kind of trend is common whenever access to a widely used online platform is restricted.
Messaging apps also benefit
The increase was not limited to VPN services. Other messaging platforms also saw more users downloading their apps during the same period.
According to Appfigures, Signal registered a strong rise in downloads on both Android and iOS. Viber also climbed the charts, while Telegram-based messaging app iMe recorded one of the biggest jumps in daily downloads on Google Play.
Interestingly, despite the restriction, Telegram itself did not immediately lose users.
According to TechCrunch, Cloudflare also noticed a sharp rise in DNS requests for Telegram-related domains from India during the same period. The company, however, said this does not necessarily mean people were successfully using Telegram. It could simply indicate that many users were repeatedly trying to open the app after access was restricted.
Why Telegram was restricted
The restriction came after concerns that Telegram was being used to spread fake exam papers and misinformation related to the NEET (UG) re-test. Government lawyers told the Delhi High Court that the measure was temporary and linked to a specific situation rather than being a permanent ban.
Telegram, on the other hand, said it had cooperated with authorities by removing channels identified by officials and questioned the need for a platform-wide restriction. The company has maintained that action against specific content would be more appropriate than restricting access for all users.
According to Surfshark's Internet Shutdown Tracker, Telegram is currently blocked in multiple countries and has faced temporary restrictions in several others over the years. Similar situations have often been followed by a rise in VPN usage as users look for alternative ways to access online services.
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