In a significant shift from its previous stance, Telegram has announced an update to its privacy policy that expands the circumstances under which it will share user data with law enforcement agencies.
This change, revealed by CEO Pavel Durov on Monday, marks a departure from Telegram’s historically stringent privacy protection stance.
Key Points of the Policy Update
- Expanded Data Sharing: Telegram will now share users’ phone numbers and IP addresses with law enforcement if users are found violating the platform’s rules.
- Legal Requirements: This disclosure will only occur following a valid legal request and court order confirming the user is a suspect in a criminal case breaching Telegram’s Terms of Service.
- Previous Policy: The platform’s former policy limited such data sharing to cases involving terror suspects only.
Telegram, founded by Russian-born entrepreneur Pavel Durov, has long been known for its strong stance on user privacy, minimising compliance with law enforcement agencies around the world.
However, recent legal pressures and growing concerns about the platform’s use for illegal activities have led to these policy changes.
Durov was recently arrested in France in connection with an investigation into the platform’s use for illegal activities and is currently out on bail.
“If Telegram receives a valid order from the relevant judicial authorities that confirms you’re a suspect in a case involving criminal activities that violate the Telegram Terms of Service, we will perform a legal analysis of the request and may disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities,” Durov explained in his announcement.
A Gentle Reminder
- It’s important to understand that Telegram operates differently from traditional messengers like WhatsApp and is more similar to social media platforms like X and Facebook.
- While WhatsApp for example stores your messages locally on your device and keeps only metadata on its servers, Telegram is a cloud-based platform.
- This means your messages are stored on Telegram’s servers unless you’re using “secret chats,” which offer end-to-end encryption.
- In regular chats, Telegram doesn’t provide the same level of encryption, meaning the platform can theoretically access and store your messages.
- This distinction is often misunderstood.
Enhanced Content Moderation
Alongside the privacy policy update, Telegram announced improvements to its search feature, which has been criticised for facilitating the promotion of illegal goods:
- A dedicated team has been working to remove problematic content from search results.
- Users are encouraged to report illegal or unsafe material through the @SearchReport bot.
- A moderation team will review all reports of search terms potentially leading to illegal content.
Durov emphasised, “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.”
What We Think
It’s stating the obvious to say water is wet.
This shift from a staunchly privacy-focused platform to one more aligned with mainstream social media practices was, in many ways, inevitable.
It highlights the fundamental tension between idealistic privacy principles and the pragmatic demands of operating a billion-user platform in a regulated digital environment.
As I alluded to here, it is the government’s game and after almost a decade as an outlier, it seems time for Telegram to re-join the fold.
