Telegram, a popular crypto-friendly messaging app, has been sharing user IP addresses and phone numbers with authorities since 2018, according to its founder and CEO, Pavel Durov.
His message, posted on his Telegram channel on October 2, aimed to clear up any confusion regarding his previous post, which seemed to announce a shift in how Telegram handles user data linked to illegal activity.
Durov explained that Telegram has been cooperating with law enforcement for years, providing data only when legal requests are properly submitted.
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Durov's message reads:
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.
To back up his claims, Durov shared data from Telegram's Transparency Bot, which shows the number of government requests for user info. For example, in Brazil, Telegram responded to 75 requests in the first quarter of 2024, 63 in the second quarter, and 65 in the third. In India, Telegram handled 2,461 requests in the first quarter of 2024, 2,151 in the second, and 2,380 in the third.
Despite such measures to ensure compliance with regulations, Durov reassured users that Telegram's core values of freedom and privacy haven't changed, clarifying:
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.
These comments come after a tough month for Durov, as he faced legal trouble in France. On August 28, French authorities charged him with six counts related to illegal activities on Telegram and released him on $5.5 million bail.
Since then, he has been keeping users updated on Telegram's efforts to prevent criminal activity on the platform.
