- cross-posted to:
- wolnyinternet@szmer.info
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov recently announced that Telegram would be handing over user data (such as phone numbers and IP adresses) to the authorities. Now it turns out that it has been doing so since 2018.
My previous post may have seemed to announce a major shift in how Telegram works. But in reality, little has changed.
Since 2018, Telegram has been able to disclose IP addresses/phone numbers of criminals to authorities, according to our Privacy Policy in most countries.
For example, in Brazil, we disclosed data for 75 legal requests in Q1 (January-March) 2024, 63 in Q2, and 65 in Q3. In India, our largest market, we satisfied 2461 legal requests in Q1, 2151 in Q2, and 2380 in Q3.
To reduce confusion, last week, we streamlined and unified our privacy policy across different countries.
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.
Full text of the post.
📰 My previous post may have seemed to announce a major shift in how Telegram works. But in reality, little has changed.
🌐 Since 2018, Telegram has been able to disclose IP addresses/phone numbers of criminals to authorities, according to our Privacy Policy in most countries.
⚖️ 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.
🤖 Our @transparency bot demonstrates exactly that. This bot shows the number of processed requests for user data.
✉️ For example, in Brazil, we disclosed data for 75 legal requests in Q1 (January-March) 2024, 63 in Q2, and 65 in Q3. In India, our largest market, we satisfied 2461 legal requests in Q1, 2151 in Q2, and 2380 in Q3.
📈 In Europe, there was an uptick in the number of valid legal requests we received in Q3. This increase was caused by the fact that more EU authorities started to use the correct communication line for their requests, the one mandated by the EU DSA law. Information about this contact point has been publicly available to anyone who viewed the Telegram website or googled “Telegram EU address for law enforcement” since early 2024.
🤝 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.
🛡 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.
- delirious_owl ( @delirious_owl@discuss.online ) 4•1 hour ago
Why do you think they (and Signal) require phone numbers?
- ByteOnBikes ( @ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net ) 1•54 minutes ago
I’ve been calling this out for years.
And every time, some commenter goes, “Nu uh, look at their website bro! It’s super private!”
- zante ( @zante@lemmy.wtf ) English16•6 hours ago
Everyone was told, from the outset , not to trust telegram. Amnesty International, the EFF, the cryptography community all said this as long as 10 years ago.
It’s actually pathetic to read a Russian talking about how it was “built for activists and not criminals “ . What a worm.
- delirious_owl ( @delirious_owl@discuss.online ) 1•1 hour ago
I don’t think Russians actually thought that. Its just that if they publicly pointed out the issues with Telegram and publicly suggested better alternatives, bad things would happen to them.
- The Doctor ( @drwho@beehaw.org ) English6•6 hours ago
There are lots of things I could say to agree with you, but all I can do is gesture helplessly.
- zephorah ( @zephorah@lemm.ee ) 11•9 hours ago
This is really simple. Use Signal or WIRE. Proton or maybe Tutanota for email.
Avoid garbage like Telegram and FB Messenger. Discord as well.
- Possibly linux ( @possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip ) English7•7 hours ago
Wire isn’t that great. Definitely avoid email as it is riddled with problems that aren’t easily fixable despite what the email companies tell you.
Simplex Chat, Signal or possibly Matrix
- delirious_owl ( @delirious_owl@discuss.online ) 1•1 hour ago
Wire is better than those imho
- delirious_owl ( @delirious_owl@discuss.online ) 1•1 hour ago
I use Wire. Its the best option right now. Better than SimpleX, Signal, and Matrix for many reasons
- Possibly linux ( @possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip ) English1•46 minutes ago
It really isn’t though
It is less secure, less private and less user friendly and is run by a company who I question.
- sunzu2 ( @sunzu2@thebrainbin.org ) 3•8 hours ago
That’s the privacy starter pack.
Mid level is Linux, DeGoogled pbone, and openwrt on the router
Make your fed work for you! You pay him a healthy wage for it 🐸
- davel [he/him] ( @davel@lemmy.ml ) English2•8 hours ago
It’s hardly simple: Why not Signal?
- The Doctor ( @drwho@beehaw.org ) English7•6 hours ago
Articles like this go very far toward chasing people away from things that work and toward things that are dangerous.
Like Telegram.
- ᥫ᭡ 𐑖ミꪜᴵ𝔦 ᥫ᭡ ( @LEVI@feddit.org ) English4•6 hours ago
Oh boy, I never read the entire thing, but they can decrypt quantum encrypted messages, if that’s true ( and I wish cryptography experts could debunk this ), if that’s true, then the NSA has went too far with this open source honeypot… perfection!
- Possibly linux ( @possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip ) English2•7 hours ago
It is way better than Telegram
- underisk ( @underisk@lemmy.ml ) 10•9 hours ago
Never trust a third party to keep your shit private. Especially if privacy is their main selling point.
- delirious_owl ( @delirious_owl@discuss.online ) 1•1 hour ago
Foss code and client side encryption is fine.