Telegram will start sharing user data with relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests.
The Telegram messaging app recently introduced a major update to its privacy policy, sparking user concerns about potential privacy issues.
Telegram will now share user data with authorities in response to legitimate legal requests, including IP addresses and phone numbers of users who violate the platform’s rules, as Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced on September 23.
This policy update has raised concerns among privacy advocates, particularly regarding its contradiction to Telegram’s core principles.
Anndy Lian, an author and expert in intergovernmental blockchain matters, commented on the issue to Cointelegraph:
“[This] highlights the ongoing tension between regulatory compliance and the protection of user data […] The concern is that such compliance could set a precedent, encouraging other privacy-focused services to follow suit, thereby eroding the privacy standards that users have come to expect.”
The update marks a significant shift in Telegram’s user guidelines, especially following concerns about the platform being potentially misused for illegal activities.
The policy change took effect on August 24, a month after Durov’s arrest in France.
Telegram’s Policy Update Aims to Deter Criminals: Durov
Although the policy change may raise privacy concerns among Telegram users, its primary goal is to prevent criminal activity on the platform.
Durov has implemented artificial intelligence tools and human moderators to remove “problematic content” from Telegram’s search function as part of these efforts.
Durov explained that the new measures are designed to ensure the platform’s safety:
“These measures should discourage criminals. Telegram Search is meant for finding friends and discovering news, not for promoting illegal goods. We won’t let bad actors jeopardize the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users.”
Telegram is currently the fourth most popular messaging app worldwide, with more than 900 million monthly active users as of April 2024, according to Statista.
Meta and WhatsApp Are Already Sharing User Data with Authorities
While Telegram’s new policy may surprise some, it is not unique among major messaging platforms.
WhatsApp, the most widely used messaging app, is known for sharing user information with law enforcement. According to WhatsApp’s privacy policy:
“Based on the circumstances, we may disclose information to law enforcement in response to an emergency disclosure request where we have a good faith reason to believe that the matter involves imminent risk of serious physical injury.”
Similarly, Meta’s Messenger complies with requests from authorities.
Since July 2013, Meta has responded to over 301,000 requests, providing user data for more than 77% of the total 528,000 legal requests received, as stated in its policy.
