Vahid Online in English

Automated AI translations of Vahid Online reporting. Exported from the Telegram Channel. Original content also available on X/Twitter.

← Back to latest feed

4 Aug 2026, 01:32

🔄 Update: Return
Before the update:
The messaging software "Telegram" was suddenly removed from Apple's App Store worldwide on Monday.

According to reports from social media users, searching for the name Telegram in the App Store yields no results, and the official download pages for this app encounter a "404 error."

Although this messenger continues to work without issues on devices that had it installed previously, there is currently no option to download fresh or reinstall it on iPhones and iPads.

So far, neither Apple nor Telegram has issued an official statement regarding the reasons for this decision, and it is unclear whether this action is permanent or temporary, and whether it is due to legal and content reviews or a technical glitch. Previously, in 2018, Apple had briefly removed Telegram from the App Store due to "concerns about the dissemination of certain illegal content," which was reinstated after necessary corrections were made.
@VahidOOnLine
🔄 Update a few hours later:
Apple announced that after a review revealed content violating its policies regarding "the prohibition of child sexual exploitation" was present on Telegram, it temporarily removed this messenger from the App Store.
According to Apple, after Telegram "quickly removed the infringing content and blocked the account of the publisher," it was restored to the App Store.
In response to reports about the removal of this messenger, Telegram wrote on social media platform X: "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."
@VahidOOnLine
🔄 Post by Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram regarding this issue, machine translation:
🍎 Last night, Apple briefly removed Telegram from the App Store because a user had embedded illegal pornographic content in a public group chat.

⬅️ Telegram was made available again within a few hours. However, I want to explain what happened; both to warn other app developers and to help protect online communities from similar attacks.

🧹 Since Telegram quickly removes illegal content from public groups using user reports, AI filters, content hashes, and other monitoring tools, the attacker had to resort to a technical trick. They edited an old message in an active group to insert AI-modified illegal content. As a result, this content remained virtually hidden from the view of group members, and they could not see it to report it immediately.

💰 The attacker was a "content removal extortionist"; someone who demands ransom from group owners in exchange for not targeting their communities. These extortionists use automated accounts to place illegal content in public groups and then report it directly to Apple to cause the removal of legitimate communities whose owners refuse to pay the ransom.

🤝 Practically speaking, illegal pornographic content in Telegram's public groups is not a systemic problem. Our monitoring is effective (https://telegram.org/safety). The fact that attackers have to resort to outdated and virtually invisible content and other technical tricks proves this.

⚠️ However, there are two important lessons for app developers and online communities:

— Extortionists have found a way to force Apple into extreme reactions. Apple removed Telegram from the App Store before contacting us. This poses a potential and systemic risk for any mobile application that hosts user-generated content. If an app used by over a billion people can be removed from the App Store without prior warning, any app could be removed.

— The tactics used by content removal extortionists are evolving and putting communities across social platforms at risk. Telegram has extensive experience in identifying the tricks of coordinated reporting gangs and protecting legitimate communities, even when this entails the risk of temporarily removing our app from the App Store. Other platforms may not be as prepared.

Stay alert! ☝️
durov

📡 @VahidOnline

Mapped locations (1)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors