The growth experts at YesGraph dig through Telegram, one of the biggest messaging apps on the planet. Even the best apps have room to grow. Find what they do right and where even an app with 100M users can grow faster. I did a walk through of these slides! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mYS1shJBwo

1. Growth Teardown:
Telegram
FIND MORE AT blog.yesgraph.com

2. We’re delighted you could join us!
We’ve started digging into apps to review their growth
Telegram is a big messaging app, so we’ll start there
If you like this, email teardown@yesgraph.com

3. Who finds the app this way? If
you heard from a friend or a
press hit.
Let’s find Telegram in the app
store.

5. Normally Apple search is low
quality. Telegram is big
enough to show up.

6. Normally Apple search is low
quality. Telegram is big
enough to show up.
O_o

8. The right app is at the top.
4.5 stars, looks good.

9. 110 reviews seems low for
their scale, but that’s just
for this version.

10. The start screen, “the
world’s fastest messaging
app. It is free and secure”
with a “Start Messaging”
clear call to action.

11. 2nd: to the full list of
contacts, which is more
colorful than my native
messaging app.

12. 2nd: to the full list of
contacts, which is more
colorful than my native
messaging app.
BOOOOORRING

13. How big is the app? This is
really important for
international. Check for
yourself in Settings >
General > Storage

14. 28MB download is small
Compare:
WhatsApp 64MB
SnapChat 72MB
FB Messenger 77MB
Small means downloads
faster and uses less of a
data plan

16. Clear call to action
Welcome screen,
repeated messaging from
the app install page.

17. Welcome screen,
repeated messaging from
the app install page.
One of these scrolling
intros, but you can skip it
anytime.

18. Welcome screen,
repeated messaging from
the app install page.
One of these scrolling
intros, but you can skip it
anytime.
My guess: 70% of users
click “Start Messaging”
right away

20. Nice animation and swipe
action.
Again, focus on value and
not technical jargon or
numbers.

22. Free, no ads, or
subscription fees.
As a user, I’m worried
about their business, but
most humans love free
too much to think.
Related to Whatsapp
going free? I wonder if
their metrics showed
Telegram catching up?

24. Again, no jargon or
numbers. Just focus on
the positive value for the
user

26. Secure: No jargon or
explanation, just fear of
Hackers

27. Secure: No jargon or
explanation, just fear of
Hackers
Other apps say “Bank
level” or “military grade”
security
bullshit, but effective

29. Cloud: Jargon! And the
pedant in me makes me
think this is at odds with
“secure”

30. Cloud: Jargon! And the
pedant in me makes me
think this is at odds with
“secure”
Problem here: this is the
last slide, and you can’t
swipe right.

31. Cloud: Jargon! And the
pedant in me makes me
think this is at odds with
“secure”
Problem here: this is the
last slide, and you can’t
swipe right.
Why not just execute the
call to action if the user
does swipe right?

33. Phone based auth. This
flow should be getting
familiar to users.

34. Phone based auth. This
flow should be getting
familiar to users.
Why not make it Apple ID
email and phone
number?
Hey Apple, it’s crazy iOS
has no permissions to tell
the app who I am
securely.

35. Phone based auth. This
flow should be getting
familiar to users.
Hey Apple, it’s crazy iOS
has no permissions to tell
the app who I am
securely.
Why not make it Apple ID
email and phone
number?
because apple chokes on services

36. Waiting for the phone
code

38. Got it, type it in
What about this “call you”.
I’m not sure, maybe a way
of helping people that
miss this?

39. You want to be able to
type in the code while the
notification is still visible
Otherwise, user needs to
toggle apps, which is
advanced for people

41. Your Info: Lots missing
here. Typing is a schlep.
Facebook connect could
help, but that might not fit
their audience

42. “Add photo” is a call to
action, but it doesn’t look
like a button. Flat design
means such actions lack
“affordances”.
Translation: “fuck the
users”

43. Later, seeing a friend’s
profile pic makes this
correctable. Maybe better
to not unburden this flow

44. Later, seeing a friend’s
profile pic makes this
correctable. Maybe better
to not unburden this flow
I actually found a bug
here: clicking the add
photo didn’t trigger
opening the camera roll
¯_( )_/¯

46. Insta-request at this point.
No priming before the
request.

47. Insta-request at this point.
No priming before the
request.
Just asking might be the
best conversion rate
I’m not sure, test it and see.™

49. Another insta-request, but
for contacts. For a
messaging app, it might
be more reasonable

50. Another insta-request, but
for contacts. For a
messaging app, it might
be more reasonable
Test combining value with
request
“Want to get messages
fast? Turn on push”
“Send a message to
friends? Tell us your
friends.”

53. So I just land here to
crickets?

54. So I just land here to
crickets?
If I have no chats yet, why
am I looking at my chats?

55. So I just land here to
crickets?
If I have no chats yet, why
am I looking at my chats?
The text even tells me to
GTFO

56. Clicked “edit”, also can’t
do a thing

57. Try NewMessage

59. Now we’re getting
somewhere. Lots of
interesting actions to take
here

60. “Secret Chat” seems too
complicated for a new
user. “New Channel” too

61. What about the rest?
Here are friends but only
people already on the app

62. sorry
Let’s try to find all our
friends

64. Let’s try to find all our
friends
Looking good, scrolling…

65. Let’s try to find all our
friends
Looking good, scrolling…
Here they are!

66. Let’s try to find all our
friends
Looking good, scrolling…
Here they are!
🍕💑

67. This is where YesGraph
can help.
🍕💑
What if your best friends
were added here? Users
would be more likely to
invite close connections.

68. This is where YesGraph
can help.
🍕💑
What if your best friends
were added here? Users
would be more likely to
invite close connections.
This increases virality and
increases the inviter’s
retention.
We recommend which
users to invite using
machine learning
YesGraph’s SDK

69. Search for a contact, my
wife.
Duplicates in my contacts
(yesgraph helps here too)

70. Search for a contact, my
wife.
Duplicates in my contacts
(yesgraph helps here too)
And there is no profile pic.
Really highlights how
unclickable these entries
are. You need better in a
contact list.

71. By the way, how would your app compare?
Email teardown@yesgraph.com to find out
how to grow faster.
TEAR DOWN THIS APP

73. Let’s compose a message
Hey Paul!

75. Reasonable empty state.
says nothing here, but
clear action to take: start
writing
Says “nothing here”, but
clear action to take:
“start writing”

76. Reasonable empty state.
says nothing here, but
clear action to take: start
writing
Says “nothing here”, but
clear action to take:
“start writing”
What does this do?

78. As expected, add a photo

79. Add a photo, love it.
Location & Contact aren’t
as obvious from the 🖇

80. This is a general problem
with mobile design:
how to surface powerful
features without cluttering
a small interface

81. Some time later…

82. Some time later…
STICKERS!!!

84. Let’s find another contact
to message.

85. Let’s find another contact
to message.
Search “Martin”

86. Let’s find another contact
to message.
Search “Martin”
Nothing

87. Let’s find another contact
to message.
Search “Martin”
Nothing

88. search in “Contacts” search in “New Message”
This is weird. If I search in
“My Contacts”, it’s fine

89. Now from here is now I can
invite one of these contacts.
Click “Invite to Telegram”

91. Now I’m composing a new
message.
Check out this invite link

92. Now I’m composing a new
message.
Check out this invite link

93. They aren’t tracking anything

94. They aren’t tracking anything
They have no idea I invited

95. They aren’t tracking anything
They have no idea I invited
They don’t know the invite
channel

96. They aren’t tracking anything
They have no idea I invited
They don’t know the invite
channel
They don’t where in the app
got me to invite

97. They aren’t tracking anything
They have no idea I invited
They don’t know the invite
channel
They don’t where in the app
got me to invite
They can’t customize the
onboarding for the invitee

98. They aren’t tracking anything
They have no idea I invited
They don’t know the invite
channel
They don’t where in the app
got me to invite
They can’t customize the
onboarding for the invitee
Their attribution metrics are
far more challenging

99. I love the copy though!
Assumes there was a
previous conversation.
“Let’s bounce, fuck
iMessage”

101. Martin the invitee is sent
straight to the app store.

102. But after Martin’s
onboarding… nothing

103. But after Martin’s
onboarding… nothing
What about the inviter?
I thought we’d “switch to
Telegram”? When will that
promise deliver?

105. I get a message from Martin
Confusingly, the message is
“Another message”

106. I get a message from Martin
Confusingly, the message is
“Another message”
This push notification pulls
me back into the app
Build a habit to return to
Telegram as the basis of
messaging.

107. Let’s talk Growth Model
Messaging apps have a
known pattern.

108. Messaging apps have a
known pattern.
Message a User
User is re-engagedUser sends more
messages

109. Acquisition == Reengagement
Message a User
Engagement
More messages
New User InviteExisting User
Acquisition

110. This is why the breaks in the
flow matter

111. This is why the breaks in the
flow matter
Weak prompts to send

112. This is why the breaks in the
flow matter
Can’t find friends
Weak prompts to send

113. This is why the breaks in the
flow matter
Can’t find friends
Weak prompts to send
Don’t track invites

114. This is why the breaks in the
flow matter
Can’t find friends
Weak prompts to send
Don’t track invites
No customization

115. Back to the flow

116. Back to the flow
Now we’re happy together in
the app.

117. What else is there?
The settings page

118. The settings page
“If you want to find where
product teams had a fight,
look in the settings page”

119. The settings page
“If you want to find where
product teams had a fight,
look in the settings page”
What’s up with my
username? Missing?
Maybe they removed the
need for one?

121. Luckily, my weird name is
*always* available

122. Luckily, my weird name is
*always* available
Some large networks like
Twitter have had trouble
because new users are
blocked on onboarding just
because they can’t find a
username

123. But what does this link do?

125. That wasn’t obvious.
This is another opportunity
for sharing, but this is weak.

126. Back to these mysterious
options
What is a “New Channel”?

128. Broadcasting?
But who is it for?
Companies? Celebs?

129. Join YesGraph on Telegram?
¯_( )_/¯

130. Hard to model without some
substantial examples.

131. Clicking the link, triggers this
share sheet

132. Clicking the link, triggers this
share sheet
So they have user SMS
invites, copy-username on
click, and a native share
sheet here.
They could all use the same
sharing mechanism because
they all involve sharing links.

133. Thanks for reading!
Want us to help your app grow with a tear-down?
Email teardown@yesgraph.com
Find more teardowns on
http://blog.yesgraph.com/