Telegram ban in India triggers surge in VPN and rival app usage

The Indian government’s decision to cut off Telegram for a week triggered a massive spike in virtual private network (VPN) downloads and alternative messaging app adoption. According to app intelligence firm Appfigures, Tuesday—the day the restriction was announced—marked the biggest day for VPN downloads in India since at least the start of 2025. Downloads of major VPN apps rose 49% from a recent daily average of 139,000 to 208,000. Sensor Tower reported Telegram’s daily active users in India rose 17% on the day the measure was announced, despite the platform having over 150 million users in the country.

The surge in demand was distributed across several major privacy and circumvention tools. According to Appfigures, specific download increases included:

• Proton VPN downloads jumped 113% on Apple’s App Store and climbed 64% on Google Play, while Turbo VPN downloads rose 85% on the App Store and increased 35% on Google Play.
• NordVPN App Store downloads increased 41%, and ExpressVPN Google Play downloads rose 31%.
• Windscribe iOS downloads rose about 89%, with sign-ups peaking roughly 100% above baseline levels.
• Signal downloads rose 72% on the App Store and 322% on Google Play, while Viber App Store downloads increased 216%.
• Telegram-linked app iMe saw Google Play downloads jump from a recent daily average of about 827 to 50,900.

Additionally, Proton reported daily registrations from India rose 120% on Wednesday, after hourly registrations spiked 150% on Tuesday. Surfshark reported a roughly 30% increase in connectivity, and Sensor Tower noted overall VPN category downloads rose 10% on June 17.

The Indian government restricted Telegram over concerns that fraudsters were using the platform to target candidates ahead of a retest for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate)—the country’s largest entrance examination by applicant volume. Authorities stated the measure was necessary to prevent the spread of fake exam papers and related scams. Telegram challenged the order in the Delhi High Court, arguing that authorities should target specific content rather than block the entire platform. However, the court upheld the restriction on Friday.

Industry experts note that these spikes are typical. “Spikes in demand for VPNs tend to follow any kind of platform restriction, regardless of the reason behind it. When access to a tool people rely on is suddenly removed, they look for alternatives fast,” said Laura Tyrylyte, a privacy advocate at NordVPN. Similar patterns occur in other restricted markets; Sensor Tower noted VPN downloads in the U.S. rose more than 40% week-over-week when TikTok was briefly removed from U.S. app stores in 2025, while Windscribe reported similar spikes following restrictions in countries like Iran and Russia. However, Cloudflare Radar cautioned that higher DNS traffic does not necessarily indicate successful access to the platform.

Why it matters

The Indian government’s temporary restriction of Telegram over exam fraud concerns has triggered a significant surge in VPN usage and downloads of alternative messaging apps, highlighting how quickly users adapt to internet access restrictions.