Apple briefly removed Telegram from its App Store worldwide over child sexual abuse material shared by a user, restoring the app after Telegram took action against the account.
Telegram disclosed the removal on Aug. 4, and Apple later confirmed the incident.
An Apple spokesperson said its review found content that violated the company’s App Store guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material.
“The app was subsequently restored after the developer promptly removed the content and banned the user who posted it,” the spokesperson said.
Telegram did not indicate how long the app remained unavailable. The Epoch Times reached out to Telegram and Apple for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Telegram Questions Apple’s Decision
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Telegram responded publicly after an X user shared Apple’s explanation for the removal.
Addressing Apple in an Aug. 4 post on X, the company wrote: “I’m sure this stance will be applied equally to all other apps in the store, in the future right?”
According to Telegram’s moderation page, public images have been automatically checked against a database of known child sexual abuse material since 2018.
The company said it expanded that database in 2024 by incorporating hashes from organizations including the Internet Watch Foundation.
In this photo illustration, the Telegram logo is displayed on a number of screens in London on Aug. 26, 2024. Leon Neal/Getty Images
Telegram said it publishes daily transparency reports covering enforcement against such material.
The platform says it has blocked 337,942 groups and channels linked to child sexual abuse material so far in 2026.
Headquartered in Dubai, Telegram describes itself as one of the world’s five most downloaded apps and says it surpassed 1 billion monthly active users in 2025.
Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines prohibit apps from containing or facilitating child sexual abuse material. The guidelines require developers to remove illegal content and state that apps containing such material may be removed from the App Store.
The latest incident echoes an earlier dispute between the two companies.
Apple temporarily removed Telegram from the App Store in 2018 after identifying what Telegram founder Pavel Durov described at the time as “inappropriate content.” The app returned after Telegram strengthened its moderation systems.
Epic Games Chief Executive Tim Sweeney criticized Apple’s decision, saying that removing an entire communications platform because of content posted by one user raised broader questions about the company’s approach to app moderation.
Ongoing Regulatory Scrutiny
Telegram has faced increasing regulatory scrutiny over how it moderates illegal content, including child sexual abuse material.
The investigation launched by the UK’s communications regulator Ofcom in April into Telegram’s compliance with the Online Safety Act, including its handling of child sexual abuse material, remains ongoing.
Responding to the launch of the probe, Telegram said in an April 21 post on X that it “categorically denies Ofcom’s accusations.”
Telegram also said it was “surprised by this investigation” and expressed concern that it could form part of “a broader attack on online platforms that defend freedom of speech and the right to privacy.”
Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov appears at an event in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Aug. 1, 2017. Tatan Syuflana/AP
French authorities detained Durov in 2024 before placing him under formal investigation over allegations that the platform facilitated drug trafficking and the sharing of child sexual abuse imagery, and that it failed to cooperate with judicial investigations.
Under French law, a formal investigation does not imply guilt or necessarily lead to trial.
Telegram rejected those allegations at the time.
“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” the company said. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”
Guy Birchall and Reuters contributed to this report.