iWorld
PM Modi becomes first world leader to hit 100 million Instagram followers
Narendra Modi surpasses 100 million mark on 24 February 2026, more than double Donald Trump’s 43.2 million.
MUMBAI: PM Modi just dropped the mic on Instagram because when your follower count crosses 100 million, even the algorithm bows down. Prime minister Narendra Modi has become the first world leader and politician in history to surpass 100 million followers on Instagram, a milestone reached on 24 February 2026 that cements his unmatched digital reach among global political figures.
Modi’s official account now dwarfs the next closest leader, US president Donald Trump, who stands at around 43.2 million followers. The combined totals of the next five most-followed leaders Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto (15 million), Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (14.4 million), Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan (11.6 million), and Argentine president Javier Milei (6.4 million) still fall short of Modi’s individual tally.
The achievement arrives during Modi’s ongoing state visit to Israel, where he was awarded the Speaker of the Knesset Medal, the highest honour from the Israeli Parliament—for strengthening India-Israel ties. His address to lawmakers drew sustained applause, and informal moments, including selfies, underscored the blend of diplomatic and digital influence.
Modi joined Instagram in 2014 shortly after taking office. What began as a supplementary channel for sharing official engagements has evolved into a central outreach tool, featuring photos, reels, stories, governance highlights, foreign visits, cultural moments, and direct citizen connection. Analysts note Instagram’s visual-first format has proven especially effective for engaging younger demographics and building an active international audience beyond India’s borders.
Domestically, the gap is stark, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has around 16.1 million followers, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has approximately 12.6 million figures that highlight Modi’s singular dominance on the platform.
Officials from the prime minister’s office called the milestone a reflection of “deepening engagement between leadership and citizens,” with Instagram enabling direct, unfiltered projection of policy, diplomacy, and cultural narratives to millions worldwide.
In an era where political influence increasingly spans physical and digital realms, Modi’s 100-million mark isn’t just a number, it’s proof that in the attention economy, the leader who masters the scroll can command a global stage like no one else.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
