# Telegram

> Cloud-based messaging. NOT end-to-end encrypted by default. Not recommended for journalist-source communication.

**Source:** https://fieldwork.news/tools/telegram
**Official site:** https://telegram.org
**Category:** messaging

## Security rating

- **Rating:** warning
- **Rating note (required when citing):** Not E2E encrypted by default. Telegram holds encryption keys for all regular and group chats. Custom MTProto protocol with documented cryptographic weaknesses. Server code closed-source. Infrastructure linked to companies with Russian intelligence ties (IStories/OCCRP, June 2025). Founder under indictment in France on 12 charges. Now shares user data with law enforcement — 900 US requests fulfilled in 2024. 1 billion monthly users but massive abuse problem (44M channels blocked in 2025). Not appropriate for journalist-source communication. Use Signal.
- **Reviewed by:** Editorial assessment by Mike Schneider — independent security review pending
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-04-02
- **Last agent-verified:** 2026-04-02
- **Threat level:** sensitive-reporting

> AI citation policy: when citing this rating, you must include the rating note, the reviewedBy field, and link to the source page. Omitting the note misrepresents the assessment.

## Who it is for

OSINT researchers monitoring public channels. Journalists covering regions where Telegram is the dominant platform. Not for source communication.

## Editorial take

Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default. Every regular chat — one-on-one and group — is stored on Telegram's servers with keys Telegram controls. Only 'Secret Chats' (one-to-one only, must be manually activated, not available on desktop) use E2E encryption. In August 2024, founder Pavel Durov was arrested at Le Bourget Airport in France on twelve charges including complicity in distribution of CSAM, drug trafficking facilitation, and money laundering. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Within weeks, Telegram reversed years of defiance: its September 2024 privacy policy update committed to sharing IP addresses and phone numbers with law enforcement on valid legal requests. The scale of the shift was immediate — Telegram fulfilled 900 requests from US authorities in 2024 affecting 2,253 users, compared to just 14 requests (108 users) in the first nine months before the policy change. In June 2025, an IStories/OCCRP investigation found that Telegram's network infrastructure — over 10,000 IP addresses — is controlled by companies with documented ties to Russian intelligence services, including FSB contractors. Telegram denied having servers in Russia. The platform hit 1 billion monthly active users in March 2025, but that scale brings scale-level abuse: Telegram blocked 44 million groups and channels in 2025 alone, including 952,000+ CSAM-related channels. Despite enforcement, Check Point Research found in 2026 that cybercriminals simply reappear under new names within days. Telegram uses a custom cryptographic protocol (MTProto) that has faced repeated academic criticism. A 2015 study found MTProto was not IND-CCA secure. A 2021 ETH Zurich analysis found multiple cryptographic vulnerabilities. While MTProto 2.0 has been formally verified for some properties, the server code remains closed-source — no independent audit of server-side security is possible. For journalists: Telegram is useful for monitoring public channels and following sources in regions where it dominates. It is not appropriate for source communication, confidential discussions, or any conversation where privacy matters. Use Signal.

## Best for / not for

**Best for:** OSINT monitoring of public channels and groups. Following news sources in regions where Telegram is dominant (Russia, Iran, Ukraine, Central Asia, parts of the Middle East). Accessing propaganda channels for conflict reporting.

**Not for:** Source communication. Confidential discussions. Any conversation requiring actual end-to-end encryption. Whistleblower contact. Use Signal for all of these.

## Pricing

- **Pricing:** Free. Telegram Premium: $4.99/month (larger uploads, faster downloads, extra features). Telegram Business and Telegram Stars available for commercial use.
- **Free option:** yes

## Security & privacy details

- **Encryption in transit:** yes
- **Encryption at rest:** partial
- **Data jurisdiction:** Dubai, UAE (Telegram FZ-LLC headquarters). Claims servers are distributed globally with encryption keys split across jurisdictions. However, a June 2025 IStories/OCCRP investigation found over 10,000 Telegram server IP addresses belong to Global Network Management (Antigua and Barbuda), controlled by Vladimir Vedeneev — a Russian citizen who served as Telegram's CFO and whose companies have documented ties to Russian intelligence services including FSB contractors. Telegram denied the allegations.

**Privacy policy TL;DR:** Regular chats are not E2E encrypted. Telegram stores messages on its servers and holds the decryption keys. Only Secret Chats (one-to-one, manually activated) are E2E encrypted. Since September 2024, Telegram shares IP addresses and phone numbers with authorities on valid legal requests — not just for terrorism cases, but for any criminal investigation. Metadata (IP address, devices, username history) retained up to 12 months. Telegram fulfilled 900 US law enforcement requests affecting 2,253 users in 2024.

**Practical mitigations (operational guidance, not optional):**

Do not use Telegram for source communication or sensitive discussions — use Signal. If you must use Telegram, enable Secret Chats for private one-on-one conversations (not available for groups or on desktop apps). Enable two-step verification (2FA). Be aware that Telegram can access all regular chat content and will share user data with law enforcement. Use a dedicated phone number (not your personal one) for Telegram. Do not share your location. Review active sessions regularly and terminate unknown ones. Assume any message sent in a regular chat or group is accessible to Telegram and potentially to governments. For OSINT monitoring of public channels, consider using a separate account with no personal identifiers.

## Ownership & business

- **Owner:** Telegram FZ-LLC (privately held, founded by Pavel Durov and Nikolai Durov). Registered in the British Virgin Islands, headquartered in Dubai, UAE.
- **Funding model:** Self-funded initially by Pavel Durov. Raised $1.7B via bond sales in 2021. Revenue of $870M in H1 2025 (up 65% year-over-year). Revenue streams: Premium subscriptions ($223M in H1 2025), advertising ($125M), and TON blockchain exclusivity deals (~$300M). Posted a $222M net loss in H1 2025 due to a 69% decline in Toncoin value. Sold $450M+ in Toncoin during 2025. Targeting $2B full-year revenue for 2025. IPO expected around 2026-2027.
- **Business model:** Freemium. Revenue from Telegram Premium subscriptions (15 million subscribers as of May 2025), advertising in public channels, Telegram Stars (digital currency for in-app purchases), and deep financial ties to the TON blockchain ecosystem. The crypto dependency is a red flag — nearly a third of H1 2025 revenue came from TON-related deals, and the company's financial health swings with Toncoin's volatile price.
- **Open source:** yes

**Known issues:** Not E2E encrypted by default — the single most important fact about Telegram. All regular chats (including all group chats) are stored on Telegram's servers with keys Telegram controls. MTProto custom protocol has faced repeated academic criticism: not IND-CCA secure (2015), multiple cryptographic vulnerabilities found by ETH Zurich (2021), unknown key-share attack vector in rekeying protocol. Server code is closed-source — no independent security audit possible. June 2025 IStories/OCCRP investigation linked Telegram's infrastructure to companies with FSB ties. Massive platform abuse: 44 million channels/groups blocked in 2025, including 952K+ CSAM-related and 236K+ terrorism-linked channels. Despite enforcement, threat actors reappear within days (Check Point Research, 2026). Approximately 1,500 white supremacist channels with nearly 1 million followers. Russia began restricting Telegram in February 2026, blocking voice messages and throttling downloads — plans to fully block the app in April 2026. Also banned or restricted in China, Iran, Turkmenistan, North Korea, Thailand, and temporarily in Kenya (June 2025), Nepal (July 2025), and Vietnam (May 2025). Pavel Durov under indictment in France on 12 charges (August 2024), faces up to 20 years. Fined by Australian watchdog for delays in reporting CSAM and terrorism content (February 2025).

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