Popular messenger: Apple briefly removed Telegram from iPhone App Store

San Francisco. Apple temporarily removed the app of the messaging service Telegram from its iPhone download platform due to the spread of child pornography. According to the company, the app was reinstated after Telegram removed the content and banned the user who had spread it from the platform. There have been various controversies surrounding Telegram in recent years.

In 2024, founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France on allegations that Telegram was not doing enough to prevent misuse by criminals. Australian authorities launched a case against Telegram on allegations that the messaging service had not detected and removed extremist posts. At the same time, Telegram plays an important role, among other things, in the Ukraine conflict, because both sides use the service to publish information on the course of the Russian war of aggression.

Last week, Durov was put on a terrorist list in Russia. One background was claims that Telegram was being used by Ukrainian intelligence services to make contact with Russians. Although Telegram is blocked in Russia, it can be used via encrypted VPN connections that disguise the users' whereabouts.