Telegram CEO Removes Some App Features Following Arrest

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has announced a new direction for the app, disabling several features he considers outdated. This comes after his recent arrest in France. The first changes affect the app’s built-in blog posts and a “People Nearby” location feature.

Durov is trying to clean up Telegram’s reputation as a haven for illegal activity. This reputation stems from the app’s previous lack of moderation. In August, French authorities arrested Durov and accused him of facilitating illegal transactions and helping to spread child sexual abuse material.

Here is Durov’s first statement he shared after his arrest last Thursday:

Telegram’s abrupt increase in user count to 950M caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform. That’s why I made it my personal goal to ensure we significantly improve things in this regard. I was told I may be personally responsible for other people’s illegal use of Telegram, because the French authorities didn’t receive responses from Telegram.

The CEO now says that features including People Nearby and new media uploads to Telegraph (the in-app blogging tool) will be disabled since they were used by less than 0.1% of Telegram’s user base, many of which were malicious users. People Nearby will be replaced by “Businesses Nearby”, which will show “legitimate, verified businesses. These businesses will be able to display product catalogs and accept payments seamlessly.”

Telegraph, a platform launched in 2016, allows users to anonymously create posts and share them online. Unfortunately, security experts have found that criminals are using Telegraph to trick people. They create fake websites or messages that trick users into giving away their personal information.