It is no longer safe to use Telegram. More user data is now being shared with law enforcement.
Last year, Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France on charges of content moderation. Since then, things have not been the same, as it has had to change its privacy policy to make the messaging app more secure.
As a result, the platform team decided to comply with the authorities' demands and cooperate in providing the necessary information about possible illegal actions carried out by users in the application.
According to a transparency report shared on GitHub, the amount of information transferred between Telegram and the police increased significantly during the second half of 2024.
This is likely the beginning of a new era for the app, so if you use it, you'll probably be interested to see the staggering amount of data it's shared in the past year, because it'll probably do the same by 2025.
Statistics revealing the information shared by Telegram indicate that in the first half of 2024, only 54 users' data was shared, but after July, the number increased significantly, especially with the arrest of Pavel Durov.
During this time period, more than 1,350 users of the platform were registered to share their data with the police. The percentage of requirements met was high, making the popular messaging app look like a serious company by delivering on its promises.
For example, 79% of requests were fulfilled in Finland, 74% in Belgium, and 98% in the UK. The report highlights that India was a special case, with over 23,500 IP addresses and phone numbers provided to the authorities.
This is definitely a before and after, as Telegram was previously one of the most private and anonymous apps due to its encryption.
Both WhatsApp and Signal have also faced similar situations where they had to engage with authorities to resolve criminal cases.
This does not mean that Telegram tracks any user, but those who show suspicious signs and pose a danger to society, just as it happens on other platforms.