WhatsApp growth slumps as rivals Signal and Telegram see downloads increase

Experts believe the shift may reflect a rush of conservative social media users seeking alternatives to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Parler

WhatsApp communications app on a smartphone. Picture: Patrick Sison/AP

Encrypted messaging apps Signal and Telegram are seeing a huge increase in downloads from Apple and Google app stores, while WhatsApp is seeing its growth decline after the company was forced to clarify a privacy update recently sent to users.

Signal saw 17.8 million app downloads on Apple and Google during the week of January 5 to 12 – a 61-fold increase from 285,000 the previous week, according to mobile app analytics firm Sensor Tower.