Telegram’s CEO has notified its users that some of the features of its apps like stickers might not work correctly under iOS 11.4 despite the issue being fixed weeks ago. This is because Apple is preventing Telegram from updating its iOS App globally ever since Russian authorities have asked the company to remove Telegram from the App Store.
Since Telegram has not been able to roll out an update to its iOS app since mid-April, it has been unable to fully comply with GDPR for EU users by the May 25th deadline. Telegram’s founder Durov says that the company is continuing its efforts to resolve the situation.
Apple has been preventing Telegram from updating its iOS apps globally ever since the Russian authorities ordered Apple to remove Telegram from the App Store. Russia banned Telegram on its territory in April because we refused to provide decryption keys for all our users’ communications to Russia’s security agencies. We believe we did the only possible thing, preserving the right of our users to privacy in a troubled country.
In April, the Russian telecom regulator asked Apple to remove Telegram from the Russian App Store. Apple has not yet removed the app from the store which led the regulator to issue a 30-day notice to the company to respond to its request for removing Telegram.
While Apple has not yet removed Telegram from the Russian App Store, it is a strange move from the company to block Telegram from updating its app outside of the App Store. Inadvertently, Apple is also putting pressure on Telegram to hand over the encryption keys of its app to the Russian government thereby putting the privacy of its users at risk.