The Telegram CEO says Apple made the app unavailable for download without any warning.<\/p>\n
Telegram briefly disappeared from the Apple App Store due to what Apple called a violation of "strict guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material."<\/p>\n
On Monday, Apple briefly removed the popular messaging app Telegram from the App Store for iOS devices after a report that a user was sharing illegal content. According to both Apple and Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, the app \u2014 which has more than 1 billion users \u2014 was restored on the App Store within hours. But Durov accused Apple of overreacting to a ransom attempt in a group chat.<\/p>\n
In a Telegram post about the incident, Durov said a member of a public group chat edited a previously posted message and added what Durov called \u201cAI-modified illegal content\u201d to it in an attempt to get the group chat flagged, because its admins had presumably refused to pay a ransom. Instead, Apple removed the app from the Apple App Store entirely until the user was banned. Apple confirmed in an email to CNET that Telegram remained available in the separate Mac App Store and that users who already had Telegram downloaded were not affected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe briefly removed Telegram from the App Store after our review found content that violates our strict guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material,\u201d Apple said in a statement. \u201cThe app was subsequently restored after the developer promptly removed the content and banned the user who posted it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apple did not immediately respond to questions about why the Mac version of Telegram remained available for download while the mobile version was removed.<\/p>\n
A representative for Telegram declined to comment directly, instead pointing to Durov\u2019s post.<\/p>\n
Durov said that the extortionist manipulated Apple into an \u201coverreaction\u201d that led to the app\u2019s removal, which he said occurred without warning. That could happen, he said, to other apps that include user content.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf an app used by more than a billion people can be removed from the App Store without prior warning, any app can be,\u201d Durov wrote.<\/p>\n
Telegram\u2019s official X account more pointedly criticized Apple\u2019s actions in a series of posts and replies. In one, Telegram posted, \u201creports of my demise are greatly exaggerated,\u201d followed by an apple emoji. In another that included a link to Durov\u2019s post, Telegram wrote, \u201cI\u2019m sure this stance will be applied equally to all other apps in the store, in the future, right? @Apple.\u201d<\/p>\n
I'm sure this stance will be applied equally to all other apps in the store, in the future right? @Apple (btw: https:\/\/t.co\/ZRYqIGaxVH)<\/p>\n
Telegram faces an ongoing dispute with Australian authorities over content related to terrorism and child safety. After Telegram was fined AU$1 million (roughly $700,000) for failing to respond to information requests, the government began pursuing additional penalties against the platform.<\/p>\n
Durov is also a target of Russian authorities, who accuse him of facilitating terrorism through Telegram. He was arrested in France in 2024 in connection with an investigation into Telegram\u2019s handling of alleged criminal activity on the platform.<\/p>\n
In 2018, Apple temporarily removed Telegram and its experimental client, Telegram X, from the App Store after determining that \u201cinappropriate content\u201d was available through the apps. Telegram restored additional safeguards, and Apple reinstated both apps later the same day.<\/p>\n