Pegasus spyware controversy: WhatsApp downloads decline 80% in India

WhatsApp has reportedly experienced a massive decline in terms of downloads, following Pegasus controversy in India. WhatsApp downloads fell 8 per cent between October 26 and November 3. The number of downloads between the said period stood at 7.8 million right after Pegasus spyware scare spread across the country. Meanwhile, downloads for other end-to-end encrypted messaging apps like Telegram and Signal rose 10 per cent and 63 per cent, respectively. A week before the Pegasus issue came to limelight, between October 17 and October 25, WhatsApp saw 8.9 million installs.

Facebook is suing NSO Group, an Israeli software company, for an alleged cyber-espionage. Last week, WhatsApp revealed 1,400 Indians including journalists and human rights activists fell prey to Pegasus spyware. Pegasus is developed by an Israeli software company NSO Group. Once activated, Pegasus could read text messages, track calls, collect passwords, trace the phone location from WhatsApp and certain other apps as well. NSO Group maintains its sole purpose is to provide technology to licensed government intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

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However, it remains this particular incident affects WhatsApp's plans to launch its UPI-enabled payments system -- WhatsApp Payments -- in the country. WhatsApp Payments is still awaiting a regulatory clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). WhatsApp had earlier said it hopes to roll out full-fledged payment services in India later this year. Once launched, WhatsApp payments will compete with the likes of Paytm, Google Pay and PhonePe.

In related news, WhatsApp ranked above TikTok and became the most-downloaded app worldwide in Q3 2019, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower. WhatsApp received around 184 million installs in the stipulated period. TikTok came second with around 176 million app installs, followed by Messenger, Facebook and Instagram. WhatsApp for Android also rolled out the biometric authentication lock feature, amid Pegasus controversy, months after it first became available for the iOS version of the Facebook-owned messaging app.

READ | WhatsApp beats TikTok, gains the most number of downloads in Q3 2019

READ | How to use WhatsApp fingerprint lock feature on Android