Telegram will disclose user data to special services by court order

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Telegram will disclose user data to special services by court order

MOSCOW, August 28, 2018./TASS /. Telegram messenger can disclose the IP address and mobile phone number of the user upon receipt of a court decision confirming that he is suspected of terrorism. This is stated in the updated privacy policy posted on website messenger.

"If Telegram receives a court order confirming that you are suspected of terrorist activity, we can disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities," the statement said.

At the same time, the messenger emphasized that Telegram has never transmitted user data yet. "When this happens, we will include it in the report on semi-annual transparency," the company said.

The corresponding report will be posted in one of the messenger channels.

Roskomnadzor began mass blocking of IP addresses after the Tagansky court of Moscow on April 13 satisfied the department’s requirement to block access to the Telegram messenger in Russia. One of the claims of the FSB to the messenger is the refusal to provide decryption keys for user messages.

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What has changed in the Telegram privacy policy. the main thing
Telegram has updated its privacy policy to bring it in line with EU data protection regulations. RBC talks about the main changes

Telegram changed its privacy policy from August 11-14. In a previous version of the document, it was stated that the company does not transfer user data to third parties, including governments.

To whom will the data be transmitted

The new privacy policy spells out three recipients to whom the user's personal data can be transferred:

Other users with whom the person communicates in the messenger (username, phone and profile photo are available for them).
Companies of Telegram Group Inc, registered in the British Virgin Islands, and Telegram FZ-LLC (UAE). These companies use user data to improve and support the services provided to users.
Law enforcement agencies. If Telegram receives a court order that confirms that the user is suspected of terrorism, his IP address and phone number may be disclosed to special services.

Secret Mystery Chats

Now Telegram described in more detail the principles of secret chats, sending photos or videos to them. In particular, the messenger emphasized:

Under no circumstances will the Telegram administration or anyone else be able to access the correspondence in such chats, unless the third-party device is used for correspondence.
Photos and videos sent in such chats are uploaded to the Telegram server, but due to the fact that they are encrypted with separate keys, the service administration does not see which specific chat they belong to, Telegram periodically removes such information to free up space on the servers.

Where data is stored

The company indicated that data centers in the Netherlands are used to store user information from the UK and the European Union.

Telegram can store metadata (IP addresses, information about devices and Telegram applications that the user used). This is necessary to prevent spam mailings, insults and other violations of the terms of use of the messenger. The Telegram administration claims that it does not use the user's data to show ads to him, and stores only the information that is necessary for security and to improve the functionality of the service.

What the bots know

The updated privacy policy has several sections on bots:

It is indicated that bot developers can access information from a user account (username, profile photo). If the user clicks on the link sent by the bot, the developer of the latter can potentially find out the user's IP address. Bots in groups can know who are members of these groups and have access to messages in the group.

How to manage information about yourself

The privacy policy spells out the rights of users regarding their personal data:

The user can request a copy of the personal data stored by the messenger, change or delete them.
The user may restrict or completely prohibit the use of personal data.

Feedback

The company said in a message that it will periodically update its privacy policy.
For the first time, contacts are indicated (chat bot @GDPRbot), by which the user can ask questions or make claims by the owners of the messenger.
Any changes take effect after they are posted on telegram.org/privacy.

Author: Alexandra Posypkina.

More details at RBC:
What has changed in the Telegram privacy policy. the main thing