In recent years, domestic messaging apps have attempted to provide Iranian users with an environment similar to foreign messaging platforms, with the government also investing in them. However, according to published reports in the past year, they have made significant progress, which experts attribute mainly to extensive filtering of foreign social networks.
Have Domestic Messaging Apps Expanded?
As reported by IDEA, one year after the widespread filtering of popular foreign messaging apps among Iranians, such as WhatsApp or Instagram, the question arises: now that the competition for attracting users to domestic platforms has essentially eliminated foreign competitors, how successful have these platforms been in attracting users?
In the latest statement, the Minister of Communications commented on the growth of domestic messaging platforms, stating that native platforms have attracted 5 to 7 times more users compared to a year ago.
However, there is no documented report available to substantiate this growth rate for domestic platforms, and the basis for these statistics is unclear.
80 Billion Views Denied by Eitaa
Some statistics published on the website of the Information Technology Organization indicate that the daily traffic of native messaging apps and social networks has increased from 200 gigabits per second at the beginning of the thirteenth government’s term to 1,400 gigabits per second by the end of 1401 (2022-2023).
According to the statistics found on the Information Technology Organization’s website, it is suggested that the monthly active users of four messaging apps officially approved by the Ministry of Communications by the end of 1401 were approximately 40 million for Rubika, around 22 million for Eitaa, approximately 16 million for Bale, and about 11 million for Splus.
In contrast to these conflicting figures, comparing the performance of Eitaa and Telegram in the month of Mordad 1402 (July 2023). The report showed that despite 2 billion views of Telegram posts, Eitaa had 80 billion views of its posts. The statistics and the lack of clarity regarding the source of this data were so unusual that they even sparked Eitaa’s objection and led to a statement in which Eitaa denied these statistics.
Domestic Messaging App Growth Coincides with the Start of Filtering
However, even if we accept the growth of domestic messaging apps, it is clear that the option of eliminating foreign competition through filtering tools, which intensified in the second half of 1401 (2022-2023), has been the most significant factor in the growth of domestic platforms.
Confirmation of this can be found in the charts published in the Information Technology Organization’s report. These charts indicate that the growth in the use of native messaging apps began in late Shahrivar (late August), coinciding with the start of filtering. However, by the end of the year, this trend showed a decline, influenced by various factors, including people turning to VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) for access.
According to the latest report by YektaNet, 80% of Iranians use VPNs to access foreign social networks and messaging apps.
On the other hand, the National Center for Cyberspace, in a report in Aban 1401 (October-November 2022), emphasized that over 60% of small businesses, which is more than one million, operate on domestic platforms, and 23 million Yekta users are members of domestic social networks. They announced that the efforts of these platforms to improve the quantity and quality of services and meet users’ maximum needs will gradually increase active users.
Iranian Platform Ranks Fourth in E-commerce Units’ Usage
In the Iranian e-commerce report for 1401 (2022-2023), the share of e-commerce units’ usage among social networks was announced as follows: Eitaa, with 21%, ranked fourth among Iranian businesses, following Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp. Rubika, with 14%, ranked fifth, and the ‘Bale’ platform, with 11%, ranked sixth.
Despite Rubika being in operation since 2017, according to a report by YektaNet, it currently has around 26,000 established stores. In contrast, there are approximately 600,000 active stores on Instagram.
Why is the adoption of Iranian messaging apps low?
The Minister of Communications, coinciding with the start of the school year, asked students to answer the question, “Why should we use Iranian platforms, which are the result of our country’s elite, instead of foreign messaging apps?”
Siyavash Ali Ahmadi, a technology expert, had previously stated that the infrastructure of domestic platforms is generally weak, and their code is to some extent borrowed from open-source projects. In other words, they used foreign sample codes. However, because users do not trust the security of the information exchanged on these platforms, there is very little interest in using these tools.
When Telegram faced filtering, the domestic messaging app igap, for example, worked very similarly to Telegram, but why didn’t users switch to it? Because they were not confident in the privacy and security of their data on this platform.
On the other hand, domestic platforms have fewer features compared to foreign ones, and this difference in features is even present among foreign messaging apps themselves. For example, the world of Telegram is vastly different from WhatsApp. Telegram offers more advanced and extensive services, which might explain why some users prefer it over WhatsApp. Domestic platforms also have fewer features compared to their foreign counterparts.
No Comment! Be the first one.