Why Telegram Was Temporarily Removed From the App Store

The popular Telegram messenger was temporarily removed from the App Store, drawing the attention of millions of users and experts worldwide. According to ixbt.com, Telegram founder Pavel Durov explained that the incident was not a system error but a coordinated attack by cybercriminals. This is reported by Ixbt.com.

The attackers reportedly used a sophisticated scheme to blackmail owners of public channels and groups. Instead of publishing new posts, they edited old ones and discreetly added prohibited content generated with AI. Since the posts had been published earlier, most participants did not notice the changes, and the reporting system also failed to respond in time.

What method did the blackmailers use?

According to Pavel Durov, these actions were organized by so-called “deletion extortionists.” The criminals demanded money from owners of large public channels, threatening to post prohibited material and then report it to Apple. If the owners refused to comply, the attackers tried to get the channel blocked or have the entire app temporarily removed from the store.

After the security team detected the violation, the Telegram team immediately removed the prohibited content and blocked the offending user’s account. Apple then restored the messenger and returned it to the App Store.

Controversial aspects of Apple’s approach

Telegram’s management emphasized that it widely uses both automated and manual moderation tools to combat illegal content. Because of these strict protection mechanisms, malicious actors are increasingly forced to seek more sophisticated ways to bypass the safeguards.

At the same time, Pavel Durov strongly criticized Apple’s actions. In his view, the technology giant’s practice of first removing the app from the store and only then contacting developers is dangerous. This approach could also threaten other major platforms that host user-generated content.

Apple, for its part, commented on the situation and confirmed that Telegram had been temporarily removed because materials violating the store’s rules had been detected. After the prohibited content was deleted and the offender was blocked, the app was returned to the catalog within a few hours.