Telegram founder Pavel Durov has clarified the platform’s privacy policies, emphasizing that no significant adjustments have been made regarding how Telegram handles user data. He revealed that since 2018, Telegram has disclosed IP addresses and phone numbers of criminals when legally required. Durov stressed that this is a longstanding policy, ensuring compliance without compromising the platform’s commitment to freedom and privacy.
Pavel Durov Reveals Telegram Has Been Disclosing Data to Authorities
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Pavel Durov Clarifies Telegram’s Privacy Policy
Telegram founder Pavel Durov clarified on his Telegram channel that no major changes have been made to how the platform handles user data, despite recent perceptions. Durov highlighted:
Since 2018, Telegram has been able to disclose IP addresses/phone numbers of criminals to authorities, according to our privacy policy in most countries.
He stressed that this policy has been in place for years to comply with legal frameworks. Durov elaborated on the process Telegram follows when addressing law enforcement requests. “Whenever we received a properly formed legal request via relevant communication lines, we would verify it and disclose the IP addresses/phone numbers of dangerous criminals. This process had been in place long before last week,” he explained.
The company uses a transparency bot to publicly display the number of requests processed, Durov noted. For example, in 2024, Telegram fulfilled 75 legal requests in Brazil during Q1 and over 2,000 requests in India, its largest market, per quarter. In Europe, a rise in valid requests occurred after authorities began using the correct channels mandated by the EU’s Digital Services Act, he shared.
In August, French authorities detained Durov over multiple allegations, including alleged illegal activities linked to the Telegram platform. He was released on 5 million euro bail but remains under judicial supervision, preventing him from leaving the country.
Durov noted:
To reduce confusion, last week, we streamlined and unified our privacy policy across different countries. But our core principles haven’t changed. We’ve always strived to comply with relevant local laws — as long as they didn’t go against our values of freedom and privacy.
He also reaffirmed the platform’s mission, stating: “Telegram was built to protect activists and ordinary people from corrupt governments and corporations — we do not allow criminals to abuse our platform or evade justice.”
What do you think about Telegram’s approach to user data privacy while complying with legal requirements? Let us know in the comments section below.
