Apple briefly removed Telegram from the App Store due to child sexual abuse material
The app disappeared briefly from the app store for some users. Apple stated that prohibited materials were found, and after Telegram addressed them and the distributor, it was returned to the app store.
Apple briefly removed Telegram from its App Store overnight after an internal review found content violating policies prohibiting child sexual abuse material. According to Apple's statement, the app was returned to the store after Telegram removed the content and blocked the user who posted it.
"We briefly removed Telegram from the App Store after our review found content that violates our strict guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material," Apple told 9to5Mac.
Apple's statement was issued about 20 minutes after access to the app was restored. Earlier, Telegram posted a snarky message on X: "The reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated," a quote attributed to author Mark Twain. The company has not yet addressed the official reason for the brief removal.
According to the initial report, on Monday evening, searches for Telegram in the App Store for iOS and iPadOS did not find the app for some users in several regions. Users who had already installed the app could still use it. At the same time, Telegram remained available in the Mac App Store and on Google Play.
This is not the first time Apple has removed Telegram from the store. In February 2018, Apple temporarily removed the app from the App Store after finding what it defined as inappropriate content. Telegram founder Pavel Durov said at the time that Apple had alerted the company to the availability of the content, and Telegram added protections before the app was restored.
In 2023, Telegram was temporarily blocked in Brazil after failing to provide authorities with information on groups accused of promoting violence in schools. In 2024, the app was removed from the App Store in China alongside WhatsApp, Threads, and Signal after Apple received an order from the country's internet regulator. The removal in China remains in effect.
About a week ago, Russia declared Pavel Durov, the platform's founder, a terrorist and issued an international arrest warrant against him. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Durov of aiding terrorist activity, claiming that Telegram failed to remove materials used by actors in Ukraine and terrorist organizations. In response, the billionaire decided to upload a blurred photo of himself giving the middle finger.
