Telegram has always been the best friend of privacy, but recent events have complicated its image.
As you know, Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France on August 24, 2024, and afterward, the platform announced significant changes to its privacy policies. Here’s what’s happening:
1) Data Sharing and Authorities: Remember that nobody including NOBODY was able to see who you really are on Telegram? Well, the platform now states that users’ phone numbers and IP addresses will be shared if required by valid court orders. That’s a big departure from its previous no-compromise stance on privacy.
2) Content Moderation Updates: The platform has upgraded its moderation features so that users can report illegal activity, which can be reviewed automatically or manually.
You may be asking yourself right now, what were the user reactions?
Well, even though this privacy move was made to help Telegram comply with regulatory pressures, it caused user migration, leading users who really care about top privacy to leave Telegram for platforms like Signal, Session, and Discord.
I don’t think that this move is so dramatic, but it’s important to understand that Telegram is not the privacy fortress we used to think.
This interesting video talks about whether you can trust Telegram or not:
