The app was developed by Durov and his brother Nikolai in 2013. They had previously founded VKontakte together in 2006. In 2014, they sold their shares in that social network, arguing that the Russian state had gained too much influence over the company’s operations. The arrest of Telegram boss Pavel Durov in Paris has drawn the privacy-focused messaging service into the spotlight. Strangely, little is known about the company or about its finances. Is there a freedom of doing anything in this “free world” ?

