How Telegram’s Data Sharing Policy Has Evolved Over Time
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 7:15 am
Has long cultivated a reputation as a bastion of digital privacy, often touting its strong encryption and resistance to government demands for user data. However, over time, the platform's data sharing policy has undergone a subtle yet significant evolution, driven by increasing legal and regulatory pressures, particularly concerning illicit activities on the platform.
Initially, Telegram positioned itself as a staunch defender of user privacy, with its founder Pavel Durov famously resisting government pressure to hand over encryption keys. Its privacy policy largely stated that it would only disclose user data in extremely rare cases, specifically involving confirmed terrorism suspects, and even then, only IP addresses and phone numbers, not message content (which is end-to-end encrypted in Secret Chats and held with strong server-side encryption for cloud chats). The company frequently boasted of a "zero bytes disclosed" record in its transparency reports.
This stance, while admirable to privacy advocates, inadvertently made Telegram a popular haven for cybercriminals, drug traffickers, extremist groups, and other illicit activities. As telegram data the platform's user base expanded into the hundreds of millions, so too did the scrutiny from law enforcement agencies worldwide. Governments began exerting significant pressure, often through legal channels, to compel Telegram to cooperate in investigations.
A turning point in Telegram's data sharing policy appears to have occurred more recently, particularly around August and September 2024. This period saw significant legal action against Pavel Durov, including his temporary arrest in France on allegations related to the platform's use for criminal activities. Following this event, Telegram's policy and transparency reports began to reflect a more cooperative stance.
According to recent reports and statements from Pavel Durov, Telegram has clarified that it will now share user data, specifically IP addresses and phone numbers, with relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests for users suspected of criminal activities that violate Telegram's Terms of Service. This expansion goes beyond the previous narrow focus on terrorism. Durov has clarified that this practice has, in fact, been in place since 2018 in "most countries," and that the recent announcements aimed to "streamline and unify" its privacy policy across different jurisdictions. He stated that whenever a "properly formed legal request" is received, Telegram performs a legal analysis and may disclose this limited user data.
Telegram also now plans to release quarterly transparency reports detailing any instances of data sharing with law enforcement. While these reports show a significant increase in the number of requests processed and satisfied, particularly from countries like India and Brazil, they still only pertain to IP addresses and phone numbers, and not the content of messages, especially those in end-to-end encrypted Secret Chats.
Simultaneously with this policy evolution, Telegram has also ramped up its content moderation efforts. It has deployed a team of human moderators augmented by artificial intelligence to monitor and remove "problematic content" from its public search features and channels. This move aims to make the platform less appealing for illegal activities and to comply with mounting regulatory expectations.
In essence, Telegram's data sharing policy has evolved from an almost absolute refusal to a more nuanced position of conditional cooperation. While it maintains its core commitment to privacy by not decrypting E2EE communications, it has acknowledged the need to address criminal activity by selectively sharing limited user metadata (IP address and phone number) under strict legal conditions. This shift reflects a delicate balance between safeguarding user privacy and responding to increasing pressure from governments to curb illicit use of the platform.
Initially, Telegram positioned itself as a staunch defender of user privacy, with its founder Pavel Durov famously resisting government pressure to hand over encryption keys. Its privacy policy largely stated that it would only disclose user data in extremely rare cases, specifically involving confirmed terrorism suspects, and even then, only IP addresses and phone numbers, not message content (which is end-to-end encrypted in Secret Chats and held with strong server-side encryption for cloud chats). The company frequently boasted of a "zero bytes disclosed" record in its transparency reports.
This stance, while admirable to privacy advocates, inadvertently made Telegram a popular haven for cybercriminals, drug traffickers, extremist groups, and other illicit activities. As telegram data the platform's user base expanded into the hundreds of millions, so too did the scrutiny from law enforcement agencies worldwide. Governments began exerting significant pressure, often through legal channels, to compel Telegram to cooperate in investigations.
A turning point in Telegram's data sharing policy appears to have occurred more recently, particularly around August and September 2024. This period saw significant legal action against Pavel Durov, including his temporary arrest in France on allegations related to the platform's use for criminal activities. Following this event, Telegram's policy and transparency reports began to reflect a more cooperative stance.
According to recent reports and statements from Pavel Durov, Telegram has clarified that it will now share user data, specifically IP addresses and phone numbers, with relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests for users suspected of criminal activities that violate Telegram's Terms of Service. This expansion goes beyond the previous narrow focus on terrorism. Durov has clarified that this practice has, in fact, been in place since 2018 in "most countries," and that the recent announcements aimed to "streamline and unify" its privacy policy across different jurisdictions. He stated that whenever a "properly formed legal request" is received, Telegram performs a legal analysis and may disclose this limited user data.
Telegram also now plans to release quarterly transparency reports detailing any instances of data sharing with law enforcement. While these reports show a significant increase in the number of requests processed and satisfied, particularly from countries like India and Brazil, they still only pertain to IP addresses and phone numbers, and not the content of messages, especially those in end-to-end encrypted Secret Chats.
Simultaneously with this policy evolution, Telegram has also ramped up its content moderation efforts. It has deployed a team of human moderators augmented by artificial intelligence to monitor and remove "problematic content" from its public search features and channels. This move aims to make the platform less appealing for illegal activities and to comply with mounting regulatory expectations.
In essence, Telegram's data sharing policy has evolved from an almost absolute refusal to a more nuanced position of conditional cooperation. While it maintains its core commitment to privacy by not decrypting E2EE communications, it has acknowledged the need to address criminal activity by selectively sharing limited user metadata (IP address and phone number) under strict legal conditions. This shift reflects a delicate balance between safeguarding user privacy and responding to increasing pressure from governments to curb illicit use of the platform.