- Telegram adds reporting tools for illegal content shared in private discussions.
- Previously the app only handled reports for public-facing content.
- The policy shift follows just weeks after CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest by French authorities.
When you’re looking for a secure way to communicate with people around the world, regardless of the mobile platform they use, Telegram is going to be on your short list. But the app’s robust focus on privacy has also emerged as a bit of a liability, most recently culminating in French authorities arresting co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov late last month. That legal pressure appears to already be resulting in some changes to how the service operates, as Telegram gives users tools to report illegal content.
Telegram has quietly updated its FAQ page to share what’s a pretty stark departure from its past policy for moderating what’s communicated in private chats, as reported by Coindesk (via Engadget). Previously, the approach was essentially hands-off: