Pavel Durov Unofficial

2022-03-08 04:28:44 If you follow my posts, you know that on my Mom's side, I trace my family line from Kyiv. Her maiden name is Ukrainian (Ivanenko), and to this day we have many relatives living in Ukraine. That's why this tragic conflict is personal both to me and Telegram.

Some people wondered if Telegram is somehow less secure for Ukrainians, because I once lived in Russia. Let me tell these people how my career in Russia ended.

Nine years ago I was the CEO of VK, which was the largest social network in Russia and Ukraine. In 2013, the Russian security agency, FSB, demanded that I provide them the private data of the Ukrainian users of VK who were protesting against a pro-Russian President.

I refused to comply with these demands, because it would have meant a betrayal of our Ukrainian users. After that, I was fired from the company I founded and was forced to leave Russia.

I lost my company and my home, but would do it again – without hesitation. I smile with pride when I read my VK post from April 2014, which shows the scanned orders from the FSB and my trademark response to them – a dog in a hoodie.

When I defied their demands, the stakes were high for me personally. I was still living in Russia, and my team and my old company were also based in that country.

Many years have passed since then. Many things changed: I no longer live in Russia, no longer have any companies or employees there. But one thing remains the same – I stand for our users no matter what. Their right to privacy is sacred. Now – more than ever. Open / Comment

2022-03-06 11:12:44 Telegram has (partially) banned RT from platform after pressures from Europe.

Europe’s sanctions require RT to be removed from television broadcasts, video-sharing platforms, internet service providers and some of other digital networks due to sharing misinformation by Moscow.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok all blocked Russia’s RT, and its channels in English, Spanish, French and German, off their platforms after the European Union imposed sanctions on the Kremlin-backed media network.

"The rules are clear. There cannot be any circumvention," said Věra Jourová, the European Commission’s vice president.

The ban currently applied to only people who had signed into Telegram with an EU-based phone number.

#news Open / Comment

2022-03-03 01:58:35 Telegram's multi-national team includes many members from Ukraine. We all wish for an immediate end to the conflict. In these troubled times, we find consolation in the fact that our work at Telegram helps people get quick access to critical information – from verified official statements to airstrike alerts that bring civilians to safety. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this war.

We will continue improving Telegram's ability to connect people in areas with limited coverage and withstand service disruptions. Open / Comment

2022-02-27 19:03:42 Many users asked us not to consider disabling Telegram channels for the period of the conflict, since we are the only source of information for them.

In connection with these appeals, we have decided not to consider such measures. However, once again I ask you to double-check and not take on faith the data that is published in Telegram channels during this difficult period.

t.me/durov_russia/41 Open / Comment

2022-02-27 18:41:53 Telegram channels are increasingly becoming a source of unverified information related to Ukrainian events. We do not have the physical ability to check all channel publications for accuracy.

I urge users from Russia and Ukraine to be suspicious of any data that is distributed in Telegram at this time.

We do not want Telegram to be used as a tool that aggravates conflicts and incites ethnic hatred.

In the event of an escalation of the situation, we will consider the possibility of partially or completely restricting the operation of Telegram channels in the countries involved for the duration of the conflict.

t.me/durov_russia/40 Open / Comment

2022-02-24 20:40:24 Due to today's events, the European Telegram cluster is facing an unprecedented load. As a result, some users may experience intermittent short-term outages in a number of Telegram services.

We understand that today people need reliable communication with their loved ones more than ever, and we do our best to keep the speed of sending and receiving messages high.

t.me/durov_russia/39 Open / Comment

2022-02-14 19:20:04 Valentine's Day is not only a day to celebrate romantic love. It's also a day to celebrate good health. A day in which plants and flowers start to grow. The day we see very first signs of beginning of the spring in some places, so it's also a day to celebrate the return of the spring.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Wish you peace, love and happiness Open / Comment

2022-02-07 14:11:15 You're always with me like a wish
If you are not by my side
In my coldest, darkest night
You're an ocean of light

Our hands are apart from each other, alas!
The sadness is blooming in our eyes, alas!
Apart but in each other's shadows
Just like two sad birds
Kept in the separate cages
By our silence, alas!

You're always with me like a wish...

Alas
#poem Open / Comment

2022-02-03 17:19:12 Messages on WhatsApp were left open to potential attackers for years, as detailed in recent leaks about Boldend – a US cyber-warfare startup (more here).

Since the creation of WhatsApp, there's hardly been a moment in which it was secure: every few months researchers uncover a new security issue in the app. I wrote about this in detail 2 years ago (read here if you missed it). Nothing has changed since then.

It would be hard to believe that the technical team of WhatsApp is so consistently incompetent. Telegram, a far more sophisticated app, has never had security issues of such severity. Open / Comment

2022-02-01 17:39:22 Video Stickers, Better Reactions and More

January update brings easy-to-make video stickers, better reactions with compact animations and extra emoji, a button to review unseen reactions, improved navigation between chats and more.

https://telegram.org/blog/video-stickers-better-reactions

#update Open / Comment