Archive · 5 Aug 2026
Pavel Durov Says AI Content Tricked Apple Into Removing Telegram
Telegram is an app that lets people send messages and share things.
For a little while, iPhone users could not find it on Apple's App Store.
Apple said it removed Telegram because it found pictures in the app that broke its rules about keeping children safe.
Pavel Durov, the boss of Telegram, says that is not the whole story.
He says a bad person secretly changed an old message in a Telegram group and put fake, forbidden pictures inside it, so the group members could not see or report them.
That person then told Apple about the pictures on purpose, hoping to get Telegram removed.
Apple put Telegram back on the store after Telegram removed the bad content and banned the user who posted it.
Mr. Durov thinks Apple should have called Telegram before removing the app.
He worries that other apps where people share their own content could be treated the same way.
Apple removed Telegram from the App Store globally on Monday night, August 3, saying a review found content that violated its policies against child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The app was restored the next day after Telegram removed the CSAM content and banned the user who posted it; users who already had the app could keep using it during the removal.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov blamed a 'takedown extortionist' who planted AI-modified illegal content by editing an old message in an active group, hiding it from members before reporting it to Apple.
Durov claimed Apple removed Telegram before contacting the company, calling it a potential systemic risk for every mobile app that hosts user-generated content.
Telegram said it has removed more than 337,900 CSAM-related groups and channels in 2026 and blocks tens of thousands of groups and channels daily.
- Who
- Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, and Apple, which operates the App Store
- What
- Telegram was briefly removed from Apple's App Store after a review found CSAM content, then restored; Durov says AI-modified illegal content planted by a 'takedown extortionist' triggered the removal
- When
- Monday night, August 3; the app was restored the next day (one report said within hours)
- Where
- Apple's App Store; one report says the removal was global, another says it affected several countries
- Why
- Apple cited content violating its CSAM policy; Durov says an extortionist planted hidden AI-modified content and reported it directly to Apple
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov
Apple
Reason for removal
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov
Durov says a 'takedown extortionist' planted AI-modified illegal content in a public group and reported it directly to Apple in an organized attempt to get the app removed.
Apple
Apple says Telegram was removed after its review found content that violated the company's policies against child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
How the removal was handled
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov
Durov says Apple removed Telegram before contacting the company, exposing a potential systemic risk for every mobile app that hosts user-generated content.
Apple
Apple confirmed the temporary removal after its review found violating content and restored the app once Telegram removed the content and banned the user; Apple's response to the timing criticism is not stated in the articles.
State of Telegram's moderation
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov
Durov argues the incident is not a moderation failure, since attackers had to rely on hidden, backdated AI-modified content to evade detection, which he says proves the platform's systems work.
Apple
Apple's review found CSAM-related content on the platform, indicating that prohibited material was present and detectable in the app.
- App
- Telegram
- Platform
- Apple's App Store
- Removal date
- Monday night, August 3; restored the next day (one report said within hours)
- Apple's stated reason
- Content violating its policies against child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
- Durov's explanation
- AI-modified illegal content planted by a 'takedown extortionist'
- Telegram users
- More than 1 billion
- CSAM content removed by Telegram
- More than 337,900 groups and channels in 2026
- Earlier penalties
- Five-day block in India at the National Testing Agency's (NTA) request over NEET paper leaks; 2022 ban in Brazil; Durov's 2024 arrest in France; Russian arrest warrant
