Durov Explains New Telegram Rules Won't Lead to Major Changes

New developments in Telegram's privacy policy, announced recently, are not significant, Telegram's founder Pavel Durov said in his channel.

"Perhaps it seemed like my previous post announced major changes in Telegram's work. But in reality, not much has changed," he wrote.

According to him, the new measures regarding data disclosure primarily aim to streamline and unify privacy policies across different countries.

"Since 2018, Telegram has had the possibility to disclose IP addresses and phone numbers of criminals to law enforcement agencies in accordance with our privacy policy in most countries," he said.

"When we received a properly formatted legal request through the appropriate channels, we checked it and disclosed IP addresses or phone numbers of dangerous criminals. This process began long before last week," he emphasized.

According to him, the core principles of Telegram remain unchanged.

Durov announced on September 23 that Telegram's management may disclose IP addresses and phone numbers of users who violate the platform's rules upon receiving legal requests from authorities under the new rules.

"We have clearly stated that IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate our rules may be disclosed to relevant authorities in response to legitimate legal requests," he wrote.

Furthermore, the Telegram founder stated that the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy will now be uniform for all users regardless of their geographical location. Durov emphasized that these updates aim to "further deter criminals from abusing Telegram's search function."

In late August, Durov was accused in France of failing to prevent the spread of criminal content through the messaging app.

Later, Durov was released from house arrest under a 5 million euro bail with strict judicial supervision, with the obligation to report twice a week at the police commissioner's office. He is prohibited from leaving French territory.