Durov emphasizes that WeChat became popular due to competitive struggles in the early 2010s, when it managed to win over many other messengers, including international ones like WhatsApp, which at that time operated without restrictions. After WeChat gathered a significant audience, government agencies began to integrate their services into this platform.
Next, Durov draws analogies with other regions. In particular, he mentions South Korea and Japan, where the messengers KakaoTalk and LINE also became leaders without a scenario in which competitors are first banned and then a winner is declared.
Based on this, Durov makes an important conclusion: attempts to impose a single service on the population have no successful examples, and eliminating competition negatively affects the quality of life and the safety of communication. He believes that competition is the driving force of progress, and its absence will not lead to improvements.
These statements came against the backdrop of new restrictions being imposed on Telegram in Russia. According to media reports, starting from February 10, 2026, authorities began to "systematically restrict" the operation of the messenger, while the Kremlin in its public comments refers to Max as a "national messenger" and "an accessible alternative." Earlier, Durov also mentioned that similar attempts in Iran were unsuccessful: users continued to use Telegram, circumventing all bans.
