News Telegram transfers User Data faster than Messages.

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Since the beginning of 2025, the messaging app Telegram has handed over data on 22,777 users to authorities — more than three times the number compared to the same period in 2024, when 5,826 accounts were disclosed. This information comes from a GitHub repository whereTelegram's transparency reports by country are published. According to these data, in the United States alone, from January to March, data on 1,664 users were transmitted, with a total of 576 requests received from American authorities. Despite its image as a platform for free communication, Telegram has long been used not only for connecting with friends but also as a venue for illegal activities — from fake financial schemes to arms trading and gambling. In the past, Pavel Durov, the founder of the service, consistently stated his commitment to freedom of speech and refusal to cooperate with government agencies. However, his position changed after his arrest in France in 2024. At that time, the French authorities demanded data from Telegram regarding a child abuse case, and the messenger's refusal resulted in the detention of its head.

Since then, Telegram's approach to requests has changed. The service has begun to respond more actively to law enforcement inquiries. The messenger even introduced a special bot that allows users to find out how many requests have been made regarding their country and how many accounts were affected. Although the bot is limited to the registration of specific users, there are third-party resources and Telegram channels that publish updated versions of reports. One such resource is managed by a technical specialist named Tek from Human Rights Watch. ​

According to updated data from GitHub, in the first quarter of 2025, Telegram processed at least 13,615 requests from various countries. As a result, information about 22,277 users was transmitted. In comparison, during the same period in 2024, the number of such requests was significantly lower. The number of requests from France saw a particularly sharp increase—from 4 to 668. In 2024, 17 users were disclosed in response to these requests, while in 2025, the number rose to 1,425. Romania, which did not appear in the reports a year earlier, sent 37 requests in 2025, obtaining data on 88 accounts. This sharp increase in the number of requests and the volume of disclosed data indicates that the platform is gradually losing its status as a "digital sanctuary."