India's Telegram Ban Triggers Record VPN Adoption Surge

India's week-long Telegram ban over exam-fraud concerns triggered an unprecedented shift toward digital privacy tools, with VPN app downloads surging 49% in a single day and Signal seeing triple-digit growth across platforms. The incident reveals how quickly users circumvent platform restrictions and exposes the fundamental tension between government regulation and digital freedom. This global trend of app-blocking policies is accelerating user migration to privacy-focused alternatives and decentralized communication channels.