Introduction
Greetings, in this article, we will compare the development of WeChat and Telegram messengers by taking a look at the history of their updates, as there are quite a few similarities. In addition, we will analyze The Open Network’s integration with Telegram, TON’s partnership with Tencent, Animoca Brands, etc., as well as the future of Telegram and the TON blockchain, which is probably underway already.
Thanks for the thoughtfulness of Al Robin, the article was prepared and formatted by Alexey Toropov (dacrime / Twitter), specially for DeepTon.
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First came WeChat
WeChat was developed by the Chinese tech giant Tencent, replacing the QQ instant messaging service, which dominated the domestic market in 2011. When WeChat was launched, it benefitted from the user base migrating from QQ, which contributed to its rapid growth.
Initially launched in 2011 under the name Weixen, it was later renamed WeChat and released on the global market on October 24, 2014, for Android and iOS (v. 6.0).
Given that its major competitors such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram are blocked in China, WeChat enjoys a 99% monopoly in its domestic market.
No other app can provide as many convenient features to a Chinese user as WeChat does. It literally allows for everything thanks to its QR code-based payment system: from buying clothes to renting real estate. It also serves as a platform for discussing important national and global news.
Without WeChat, it’s almost impossible to make purchases in most places, as cash is almost obsolete, and card payments are only accepted in large chain stores or restaurants.
Telegram was created by the brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov. They have come a long way, from creating the most popular social network in Russia — VKontakte — to launching Telegram in 2013. Much of the experience gained from VKontakte helped quickly build Telegram’s userbase.
As it appeared for the first time in 2013, Telegram soon became an internationally appraised means of communication. It was officially introduced for Android and iOS on August 14, 2013 (v 0.1).
What makes it outstanding is not only its messaging features but also its use as a platform for business development and social interaction. Over time, it implemented bot chats, an integrated payment system for money transfers, and support for exchanging large files. Telegram became a kind of digital Swiss army knife for communication.
More than just a messenger, it has become an essential tool in information exchange, implementing exclusive features not yet considered by other messengers. This got Telegram to become part of the digital environment and the daily lives of many people.
Following WeChat’s footsteps: harmonious messenger integration
WeChat and Telegram are two of the world’s most popular and multifunctional messengers. Even though they have different approaches and markets, they share many similar updates and features.
In this chapter, we will walk through the history of WeChat and Telegram updates, from the release date to the present day. Although the article is primarily focused on Telegram, we decided to include updates undergone by the Chinese messenger, which we will explain soon.
Given:
— WeChat 6.0 was launched for Android and iOS on October 24, 2014. Its initial version was called Weixin and was launched in 2011;
— Telegram for iOS was launched on August 14, 2013.
WeChat offered the ability to delete messages for both chat participants in July 2014, while Telegram implemented this feature only in January 2017.
During the same period in 2014, Telegram added the ability to preview photos before sending, send multiple photos simultaneously, and improved notifications.
In October 2014, WeChat added the video calls function. On its seventh birthday, in August 2020, Telegram also implemented this feature.
In the same month of 2014, WeChat released Sight video, allowing users to share short 6-second videos. Two months later, in 2017, Telegram added support for video loops with a duration of up to a minute.
During the same period in 2014, Telegram added usernames, support for secret chats 2.0, Android Wear, Android tablets, and video compression on Android.
In March 2015, WeChat released an update with support for the Apple Watch. Telegram, in turn, released a similar update in June of the same year.
During the same period in 2015, Telegram added replies, mentions, and hashtags.
On May 27, 2015, WeChat added text translation, chat backups, as well as the ability to select multiple photos when sending messages. In turn, on December 30, 2021, Telegram released an update containing reactions, hidden text, message translation, and QR codes. Selecting multiple photos was available on Telegram back in June 2014.
In 2015, Telegram added support for custom sticker sets @stickers.
Note that in the May 2015 update, WeChat users needed to have their device connected to a charger or charged to at least 30% in order to be able to transfer chat history. Telegram has supported chat history synchronization since its launch in 2013. This was one of its key features — allowing users to access their messages from any device that has Telegram installed. The cloud messaging system preserves the chat history in the cloud, allowing users to easily switch between devices without losing data.
WeChat became available on the Windows operating system on May 5, 2015, while Telegram had this available back on June 6, 2014.
During the same period in 2015, Telegram added support for replies, mentions, and hashtags.
In September 2015, WeChat added support for custom “Rich Media” messages, while Telegram also added “saved messages” in its November 2017 update.
The following month, on October 20, 2015, WeChat added support for group video calls. Telegram implemented this feature on May 25, 2017.
During the same period in 2015, Telegram added channels, quick replies on iOS, and more tools for the iOS photo editor.
WeChat Pay & Wallet
On August 5, 2013, Weixin Pay, a digital wallet and mobile payment service from WeChat has emerged, soon after renamed WeChat Pay. This service offers mobile and online transactions, reaching 1.133 billion active users in 2023. Its main competitor in China is Alipay from Alibaba Group, a long-time market leader in online payments.
In May 2017, Telegram introduced Bot Payments — a free and open platform where sellers can accept payments for goods and services from Telegram users.
As a visual example, the developers have created the @shopbot showing how to integrate payments within Telegram bots.
During the TOKEN2049 conference held on September 13, 2023, 10 years after the launch of WeChat Pay, Telegram announced a partnership with the TON blockchain and the integration of its cryptocurrency @wallet into the messenger’s main menu. Thanks to this integration, users can make transactions in cryptocurrencies such as TON, USDT (TRC-20), and BTC. Discover the presentation from the conference here.
WeChat Mini Programs & Telegram Mini Apps
Tencent officially launched WeChat Mini Programs on January 9th, 2017.
WeChat Mini Programs, also known as mini-applications, operate within WeChat itself. They can be used instantly, require no installation or downloading, and are accessible directly within WeChat. Their functionality is not as extensive as that of full iOS or Android apps. Nevertheless, the most common mini-programs fulfill the needs of the average user.
Currently, thousands of mini-programs with diverse functions from various fields have been launched. For example: booking flight tickets, stock market charts, watching videos, ordering food, booking cinema tickets, bike-sharing, calling taxis, online shopping, photo editing, and much more.
In addition to applications, there are the WeChat Developer Tools — Tencent’s official toolkit for developing Mini Programs, games, and web applications. It was developed to simplify and optimize the process of creating, debugging, and deploying applications within the WeChat ecosystem.
For those with web development skills, WeChat Developer Tools is extremely useful for developing and integrating applications into one of the world’s largest social platforms.
The revolutionary capabilities of Telegram bots, soon renamed Telegram Mini Apps, were implemented on April 16, 2022, although they appeared slightly earlier.
The gaming platform 1.0 launched inside the messenger on October 3, 2016 was a kind of prototype of mini-applications. However, it mainly focused on HTML5 games, both as single-player experiences and competitions between multiple users in group chats and one-on-one dialogs.
With Telegram Mini Apps, developers can use JavaScript to create infinitely flexible interfaces that run directly in Telegram and fully replace any website.
Like bots, Mini Apps use seamless authorization, integrated payments through 20 payment providers (including Google Pay and Apple Pay), personalized push notifications to users, and much more.
Mini Apps use a special Telegram API and are full-fledged applications, though adapted and optimized for integration into the messenger itself. These include games, payment systems, service bookings, tools for online stores, and many other functional solutions.
Over the past two years, the most popular apps were related to the TON (The Open Network) ecosystem: decentralized exchanges, wallets, analytics services, as well as Web2 and Web3 games from various blockchains, online stores, applications for smart homes, and much more.
Conclusion on the history of the updates
In this article, we presented 11 examples from the update history of WeChat as outlined in its official blog. Based on this comparison, WeChat received updates before Telegram in 8 out of 11 instances, Telegram received updates earlier twice, and one update was released in the same year.
Though Telegram outpaced WeChat in some updates, the framework of the messenger was predominantly borrowed from WeChat. Moreover, both messengers exhibit several similar and contrasting trends:
— Stickers and emojis for thematic holidays (Halloween, New Year, etc.) In Telegram, they appear much more attractive to global users. The messenger lets users upgrade stickers and access custom emojis through a Telegram Premium subscription.
— Messenger blogs. WeChat’s blog lags behind updates, and its formatting is subpar. Meanwhile, Telegram’s designer Andrey Yakovlenko (OHUENKO) diligently creates attractive illustrations for every update. The “Evolution of Telegram” page is structured for easy exploration and discovery of relevant information.
— Radar of nearby users: an update allowing people to find each other based on location. In WeChat, this function worked initially only based on cellphone numbers, but they soon transitioned to usernames. Telegram, in addition to displaying users, can also display local chats (groups).
— WeChat, like Telegram, also boasted having 800 million users. However, the Chinese messenger was referring to the number of WeChat Pay users (source), while Telegram refers to the number of unique messenger users per month (Monthly Active Users).
— Other points include payment services, mini-applications, public channels and groups, privacy, API usage, etc.
Next, we will discuss two important topics by examining and comparing messenger statistics.
Messenger Security
WeChat protects its transmitted data through encryption, but isn’t as transparent about it as Telegram. We only know that it applies some form of encryption on messages and user data, but the Chinese government has significant control over internet companies and can request access to user data.
Telegram offers two types of encryption:
1. Server-client encryption in regular chats. Data is encrypted on the client side, transmitted to the server in encrypted form, and decrypted only on the recipient’s device. The Telegram team has a key that allows access to the correspondence.
2. End-to-end encryption (E2EE) for secret chats. It guarantees that only the sender and recipient can read the message. Telegram does not apply E2EE by default in regular chats.
Messenger Regulation
WeChat adheres to strict rules and regulations set by the Chinese government, as do many other internet services and platforms in China. The government sets the rules by which internet companies must operate, including content censorship, requirements for data storage within the country, and the right of government agencies to access user data upon request.
As a key component of China’s digital economy, WeChat and its dependents, including WeChat Pay, are subject to regulation by several government agencies.
This includes legislation on internet security, personal data protection, and other requirements. Over time, China has strengthened its regulatory measures, leading to increased state control over key players in the digital market, including WeChat.
Telegram is known for its commitment to privacy and security, offering features such as end-to-end encryption in secret chats.
As of the current year, the parent company of Telegram is registered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Historically, Telegram has not had a permanent place of registration, moving from one jurisdiction to another. For example, the company was registered in Germany, Singapore, and the British Virgin Islands.
Telegram regularly faces attempts at government regulation and pressure from various countries related to security and control over the spread of information. However, Telegram stands by its policy of not providing user data, which inevitably leads to conflicts with authorities in different countries. Some governments and regulatory bodies attempt to restrict access to the messenger, demanding that Telegram provide decryption tools, which, according to the company’s statements, contradicts its fundamental principles.
Thus, despite facing regulatory pressure in some countries, Telegram continues to emphasize its independence from any single state.
Messenger Statistics
With the number of WeChat monthly active users approaching 1.5 billion, and the platform’s annual growth reaching hundreds of millions of users, it seems that it still has considerable growth momentum.
However, upon closer examination, we can see several challenges looming over WeChat Mini Programs. A key factor limiting their user base growth is market saturation. Since most potential users within China are already actively using these services, this doesn’t leave many further opportunities.
Additionally, the geographical distribution of WeChat also plays a role, since the application is only available within China. This significantly hinders the potential for international growth, as new users outside this geographical zone do not have access to Mini Programs in their version of WeChat.
The number of monthly active users on Telegram has surpassed 900 million, with the annual user growth going from tens of millions to hundreds of millions.
From 2013 to 2023, the number of active users increased by 40 times, and according to the estimates presented at the TOKEN2049 conference, Telegram plans to attract over 1.5 billion active users by 2028.
Telegram Mini Apps, not as widely known and publicly analyzed as WeChat Mini Programs, are estimated to have around 70–80 million active users, though it has only hit the 2 year mark this April.
Two recent examples of applications using this technology are Notcoin and Mine HOT.
At its peak, Notcoin gathered a user base of 30 million, earning it a headline in the Forbes magazine.
The Here Wallets team, developing Mine HOT, reported that within just 3 weeks of launching the project, the app has been used by over 2 million people.
The gaming platform Gamee, also successfully integrated into the messenger, has reached impressive user activity and popularity. With over 50 million registered users, the platform records over 200 million gaming sessions monthly.
Note that the Telegram Web3 ecosystem, still in its early stages, has already a “Telegram Bots” section on well-known resources such as CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko. These sections showcasing Telegram Bot tokens represent an important milestone, but they are just beginning to reveal the scale and potential of the entire ecosystem.
Comparing the development dynamics and growth potential of the two platforms — WeChat and Telegram, we can see that both platforms show impressive activity indicators.
The TON Foundation has launched the Web3 Grants program to stimulate and support the expansion of the TON ecosystem within Telegram. This initiative provides a unique opportunity for Telegram Mini Apps developers to integrate TON blockchain technologies and receive financial grants and support. This will stimulate innovation and the development of new applications, thereby enriching and further growing the TON ecosystem within Telegram.
n conclusion, while WeChat is maintaining high activity among current users, it faces market saturation and geographical limitations. Telegram, on the other hand, is actively expanding through Mini Apps and TON blockchain in order to reach a significant userbase and ecosystem development. Initiatives such as Telegram Web3 Grants underscore the platform’s ambitions for innovation and developer support, paving the way for future growth and integration of modern technologies into the messenger.
TON Blockchain and Telegram symbiosis
On September 13, 2023, at the TOKEN2049 conference, TON Foundation announced that it will partner with the Telegram messenger to create an integrated crypto wallet.
Steve Yun, president of the TON Foundation, announced the expansion of the TON ecosystem through Telegram and the messenger’s large user base. This partnership aims to make cryptocurrency usage simple and accessible through the built-in wallet in Telegram and TON Space.
From their Wallet in Telegram, users can send digital assets in just two simple clicks. Additionally, this TMA offers a non-custodial wallet — TON Space. Find more information on other aspects here.
John Hyman, Telegram’s IT director, emphasized Telegram’s uniqueness as a platform for creating Web3 applications and its commitment to upholding freedom of speech and rights to digital assets.
As mentioned earlier, Telegram expects to reach a user base of 1.5 billion people within 3–5 years, and Wallet will be integrated into all user accounts outside the USA. You can find the presentation from the conference here, and a record of the conference here:
In late September of last year, TON Foundation announced a strategic partnership with Chainbase and Tencent Cloud, which developed WeChat.
The partnership aims to foster the development of mini-applications on Telegram by offering developers familiar tools for convenience and productivity.
With easier access to development on TON, we expect a greater presence of user-friendly decentralized services and apps within the messenger.
Previously, Tencent had created WeChat (Weixin) Developer Tools — the company’s official integrated development environment (IDE) for developers working with WeChat Mini Programs.
It offers a wide range of features that simplify the design, development, testing, and monitoring of mini-applications within the WeChat ecosystem. Developers can use them to integrate their apps with various WeChat functions and services, including payments, user recognition, and using WeChat APIs to access other platform capabilities.
In the future, we may see our own Telegram Developers Tools, which will serve as a builder with similar integration of Telegram and TON functions and services to simplify application development for businesses and interaction with their audience.
In November 2023, Animoca Brands, the major Hong Kong-based game development company, invested in the TON blockchain protocol and became its largest validator, with the prospect of developing GameFi on this platform.
The company plans to provide strategic support to TON Play, a gaming infrastructure project based on the TON blockchain. It allows developers to create gaming applications on TON and launch them on Telegram, or port existing web games into the application.
TON Play will help developers deliver their games to approximately 800 million Telegram users through its web app and the PlayDeck bot in its mobile app, which contains a catalog of mobile games.
Notably, Animoca Brands already has experience developing games with Telegram. In 2016, when Telegram gaming platform launched, the company introduced @gamee — a gaming bot with HTML-5 games inside the messenger.
GAMEE is a mobile gaming platform aimed at attracting a mass gaming audience to Web3, and is part of Animoca Brands, a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification in China.
In late November 2023, TON Foundation, in partnership with Future3 Campus, announced TON Bootcamp, an event aimed at stimulating the development of mini-applications in the Web3 ecosystem based on TON.
Future3 Campus, created by Wanxiang Blockchain Labs and HashKey Capital, is a platform for incubating Web3 innovations in three main areas: Web3.0 mass adoption, DePIN, and AI.
The HashKey Capital fund has invested in over 165 Web3 ventures and sealed over 1,000 partnerships, including with Coinbase Ventures, Binance Labs, Gate, and others.
Hashkey Exchange is a centralized exchange founded in Hong Kong in 2018. Currently, only 10 pairs are being traded with a volume of $300 million over 24 hours. Hashkey was among the first to obtain an exchange license in Hong Kong.
The Chinese conglomerate Wanxiang Group, a major auto parts manufacturer and one of the founders of Futur3 Campus, is actively investing in blockchain and has its own dedicated fund. Wanxiang Blockchain provides technology, capital, and resources for industrial development and business implementation in the blockchain industry.
This partnership essentially means a direct partnership between The Open Network and Hashkey, the most influential cryptocurrency leader in Hong Kong.
WeChat itself is a government-regulated messenger, we talked to you about it above. Telegram is trying to be the complete opposite in this regard, with a bias towards Web3 and Telegram Mini Apps, running support for projects with grants and promotion in Telegram Ads that actively utilise TON blockchain technologies.
“The logic behind Telegram SuperApp is obvious — Telegram Mini Apps built around Telegram Messenger and Wallet’s crypto payments form a coherent ecosystem. We decided to take the Asia-first approach because Asian audiences are familiar with the concept of SuperApps such as Weibo or WeChat”, stated TON Foundation.
Conclusion
Pavel Durov has repeatedly spoken about the monopoly of Apple’s app store, even publishing a post called “7 reasons why every iPhone user should worry about the 30% tax in the App Store,” while its representatives have delayed Telegram updates several times.
For example, this is how update descriptions looks like in the App Store (I couldn’t find the description in Google Play):
“I wish one day huge companies like Apple and Google can become independent of any government that can distort the mission of their founders (maybe start their own countries?)”, said Pavel Durov on his channel.
As for the idea of creating his own country, currency, and decentralization, Pavel decided to do so together with his brother Nikolai. They created the Telegram Open Network blockchain, which was later handed over to the community, and the TON Foundation team continues to carry on this idea to this day.
Currently, the TON Foundation is developing its own catalog of Telegram mini-applications: the Telegram Apps Center, an independent application marketplace, albeit with centralized moderation. The director of the Telegram Mini Apps at the TON Foundation announced that the application catalog will soon be integrated into the main messenger menu, alongside @wallet.
The TON Foundation is not the only one developing an application catalog; Animoca Brands already has PlayDeck — a well-established catalog of games built on Telegram Mini Apps. Also, the creator of HOT Coin in a recent interview announced plans to develop a Web3 application store within the messenger.
As of March this year, Telegram channel owners will start receiving 50% of the revenue from showing Telegram Ads on TON.
Telegram and The Open Network have everything it takes to build a real Web3 world where everyone can express themselves freely. The ecosystem is being built as we speak, attracting users from all over the world.
As developers grow, the messenger will improve, and along with it, Telegram Mini Apps, which will soon become more than just a browser within the messenger.
To this day, Telegram remains the main platform for freedom of speech in every country. People receive news and essential information about events worldwide primarily through Telegram.
“From all his battles with shareholders, competitors, regulators, Pavel Durov emerged victorious, as if he knew the outcome of these fights in advance. This makes him a leader, a person who guides us into the future, and in this future, there are no state borders, no state currencies, and technologies foster the realization of human potential, not limiting it.” — a phrase from Rodion Chepelya, director of the documentary movie “Durov”.
