I have a post that goes into some background on Telegram with a detailed review of the platform and its encryption choice. They always required your phone number, which was a giant red flag to me. You’d have to think they have a giant backdoor to the platform, especially now that the founder is not allowed to leave France. And after the phone network psyop for Chinese hackers. our government that was railing against encryption, wanting backdoors, is now recommending everyone use encryption. So you’d have to think they have access to all the major platforms. If for whistleblowing, reporting, or anything that puts you at serious risk, stick with Tor and GnuPG encryption making sure you learn how to properly use them, not doing anything at the same time you have your smartphone or connected car with you.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/telegram-users-data-us-law-enforcement-2024-report
Telegram reportedly fulfilled 900 total requests from the US for IP addresses and phone numbers, affecting 2,253 users.
The messaging app Telegram fulfilled 900 inquiries from the US requesting personal information about its users, with the majority coming in after CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest in France.
According to a Jan. 7 report from 404 Media, Telegram fulfilled 14 requests for “IP addresses and/or phone numbers” from the US between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2024. However, the platform reportedly responded to 900 total inquiries from the US for the year, affecting 2,253 users, suggesting that the number of requests escalated after October.
On Aug. 24, French authorities arrested Durov over allegations Telegram facilitated criminal activity. The CEO said in October that the platform had been providing IP addresses and phone numbers of alleged criminals to authorities in different countries upon request since 2018 — a policy disclosed in Telegram’s privacy policy.
French authorities have barred Durov from leaving the country, as the legal case is ongoing at the time of publication. The CEO reported in September that Telegram had more than 950 million monthly active users, with many in the crypto industry suggesting they preferred the app.