First-time installations of Telegram in Hong Kong quadrupled year-on-year in July, as citizens turned to news and messaging apps during a period of turmoil in the city, Sensor Tower data showed.

The analytics company estimated Telegram added 110,000 new users in Hong Kong in July, marking a 323 per cent annual increase and significantly higher than the 92 per cent rise recorded by the app in the rest of the world.

Sensor Tower also noted “tremendous growth” among other news and information apps, for example message board app LIHKG, where first time installations jumped 900 per cent year-on-year. Overall downloads in the news category increased 197 per cent to 1.6 million users.

Protestors in Hong Kong reportedly turned to such apps to share information and coordinate marches.

In June, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov accused China of launching a cyberattack which briefly crippled the platform. He said the incident was consistent with earlier attacks conducted during demonstrations in the city.