Telegram app back on Apple's App Store after removal over child sexual abuse material: Report

Telegram said on Monday that its app was back on the App Store, as per a Reuters report. The popular messaging app had earlier disappeared from Apple's App Store without any reason being given by either Apple or Telegram.

"Telegram has been restored on the App Store and should soon be available again for all users," the company said.

After the Telegram app had disappeared, the App Store page read, "The page you're looking for can't be found."

As per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple had briefly removed the Telegram app from the App Store after its review found the app in violation of the App Store's guidelines on child sexual abuse material.

The app was reportedly later reinstated after Telegram removed the sexual content and banned the user who had posted it.

Notably, Telegram continued to be available on the Google Play Store and via the Mac App Store. Moreover, existing Telegram users continued to be able to access the app without reporting any loss of data. The App Store ban also does not appear to have affected users in India so far.

Telegram's official handle on X (formerly Twitter) joked about the brief removal of the app in a new post, writing, "Reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated 🍎"

Apple and Telegram's history:

Notably, this is not the first time that Apple has taken down the Telegram app from the App Store. The company had also briefly removed the popular messaging app from its App Store over the presence of child sexual abuse material.

Similar to the current incident, the Telegram app was restored to the App Store after the illegal content was taken down and the user who had posted it was banned from the platform.

Telegram's regulatory hurdles:

Telegram has also faced regulatory hurdles in recent years. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France in 2024 over the app's alleged failure to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material.

Durov faced preliminary charges related to a lack of app moderation, drug trafficking and facilitating illicit transactions. However, the Telegram CEO was later released on bail and allowed to leave France.

Meanwhile, a few days back, Russia charged the Telegram founder with offences related to facilitating terrorist activity and accused the platform of being run by Ukrainian intelligence services to recruit Russians for attacks inside the country.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) also placed Durov on an international wanted list.