Telegram and WhatsApp duck Russian bans and remain the last apps standing

Chat platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram have avoided being blocked by Russia -- unlike some of the world's biggest social networks -- in a tenuous tolerance that experts warn could end suddenly.

Years of tension between Moscow and US-based Facebook and Twitter erupted into confrontation after the invasion of Ukraine, with the platforms targeting state-tied media and then finding themselves restricted in Russia.

YouTube, which has barred channels linked to Russian state media globally, was on Friday also facing a direct threat of being blocked after Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, accused the site's owner Google of being "anti-Russian."

Messaging apps, however, have gotten a pass so far in part because Meta-owned WhatsApp is less suited for mass communication, while Telegram's ability to blast information to large groups has made it useful both for independent media and the Kremlin.

Telegram has become an essential exchange for news on the war, with its growth accelerating after the Kremlin's latest crackdown on independent media and the lock-out of apps like Facebook and Instagram.

An average of 2.5 million new users joined Telegram daily in the last three weeks, the firm said, about a 25 percent jump from the weeks prior.