The messaging app Telegram will forward to law enforcement authorities the IP addresses and phone numbers of users who violate Telegram’s usage rules, i.e. use the platform to break the law.

The decision was notified by Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who is under investigation in France on Telegram-related charges. Among them, according to French authorities, are failure to cooperate with law enforcement authorities in investigating criminal activities.

“We have clarified that the IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate our rules may be disclosed to the relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests,” Pavel Durov wrote in a post on his Telegram channel.

Telegram’s privacy policy states that the company may disclose an IP address and phone number if it receives a “legitimate request from relevant judicial authorities” stating that a user is suspected in a “case involving criminal activity that violates Telegram’s terms of service.” After receiving the request, the company will conduct a legal analysis of the request – and “may disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities.”

The previous version of the privacy policy, available in the online archive, said Telegram could disclose an IP address and phone number to authorities if it received a court request that a user was suspected of terrorism.

The previous version of the privacy policy (from 31 July 2024) noted that the company would report in its semi-annual transparency report if it passed on user data to the authorities, but “this has not happened so far”. The new version states: “If data sharing occurs, we will include it in the quarterly transparency report.” The new version does not state that “this has not happened.”