Telegram’s Transparency Report: User Data and Government Requests

The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, elaborated on the messaging app’s policy regarding the disclosure of user data to authorities in a post on his Telegram channel. He emphasized that there have been no significant changes in Telegram’s operations, despite recent publications that may have suggested otherwise.

According to the Privacy Policy in effect since 2018, Telegram reserves the right to share the IP addresses and phone numbers of criminals with governmental authorities. Such measures are applied only when a properly authorized legal request is submitted. As Durov notes, this practice has long been in place, and only correctly filed requests receive approval.

To demonstrate transparency in this regard, a bot named @transparency was created. This bot provides statistics on processed legal requests for data disclosure. For instance, in the first quarter of 2024, Telegram granted 75 such requests in Brazil, 63 in the second quarter, and 65 in the third. In India, the platform’s largest market, the numbers are higher: 2,461 requests in the first quarter, 2,151 in the second, and 2,380 in the third.

In Europe, the third quarter saw an increase in the number of legal requests, attributed to more EU authorities utilizing the communication lines prescribed by the EU DSA for submitting applications. Information about this contact point has been available on Telegram’s website since the beginning of 2024.

Pavel Durov also noted that last week, the privacy policy was streamlined and unified across different countries to reduce confusion. However, the core principles of Telegram’s operations remain unchanged. The messaging platform has always sought to comply with local laws, but only when such laws do not conflict with its values of freedom and privacy.

In his statement, Durov reiterated that Telegram was designed to protect activists and ordinary people from corrupt governments and corporations, while ensuring that the platform is not used by malicious actors to evade justice.