Telegram states two privacy principles: no ads from chats or contact lists, and storing only data it needs
Telegram says it follows two fundamental principles when collecting and processing private data. It does not use the contents of your chats or contact lists to show you ads, and it stores only the data Telegram needs to work as a secure, feature-rich messaging service. Later it repeats that no contents of private chats or contact lists are mined or analyzed to display ads or sponsored messages.
Supporting quotations
Telegram has two fundamental principles when it comes to collecting and processing private data:
We don't use the contents of any of your chats or contact lists to show you ads.
We only store the data that Telegram needs to function as a secure and feature-rich messaging service.
Unlike other services, we don't use the contents of your private chats or contacts lists for ad targeting or other commercial purposes.
No contents of private chats or contacts lists are mined or analyzed to display ads or sponsored messages.
Qualifications & exceptions
These are introductory principles. Section 5.6.1 describes other data that can be used to choose ads, such as content language, an approximate country and city, and large public channels you follow.
The ad commitment is about the contents of chats and contact lists. Section 5.3 separately allows automated analysis of cloud-chat messages to stop spam and phishing.
Not stated here
What counts as data Telegram "needs" to function is not defined beyond the data types described in later sections.
Use & Processing · Company commitment
A password recovery email is used only to send recovery codes, not marketing
When you turn on 2-step verification or store documents with the Telegram Passport feature, you can choose to set up a password recovery email. Telegram says this address will be used only to send you a password recovery code if you forget your password, with no marketing messages.
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When you enable 2-step-verification for your account or store documents using the Telegram Passport feature, you can opt to set up a password recovery email. This address will only be used to send you a password recovery code if you forget it.
no marketing or
Qualifications & exceptions
Setting a recovery email is optional ("you can opt to").
Use & Processing · Company practice
Cloud chat messages, photos, videos and documents are stored on Telegram's servers, encrypted
Telegram is a cloud service. It stores the messages, photos, videos and documents from your cloud chats on its servers so you can reach them from any of your devices without third-party backups. Telegram says the data is stored heavily encrypted and that the encryption keys are kept in several other data centers in different jurisdictions, so local engineers or physical intruders cannot get access.
Supporting quotations
Telegram is a cloud service. We store messages, photos, videos and documents from your cloud chats on our servers so that you can access your data from any of your devices anytime without having to rely on third-party backups.
All data is stored heavily encrypted and the encryption keys in each case are stored in several other data centers in different jurisdictions. This way local engineers or physical intruders cannot get access to user data.
Qualifications & exceptions
This covers cloud chats. Secret chats are different: they are end-to-end encrypted and not stored on the servers (section 3.3.2).
The stated protection is against local engineers and physical intruders; it is not a statement that no one at Telegram can read cloud chats.
Not stated here
Section 5.3 separately describes moderator review of reported messages and automated analysis of cloud-chat messages to stop spam and phishing; this section does not say who at Telegram can access cloud-chat content or how long it is kept beyond section 4.3 and the deletion options in section 10.
Use & Processing · Company practice
Locations you share in a chat are treated like other messages in cloud or secret chats
If you share a location in a chat, Telegram treats that location data like other messages in the same kind of chat: as cloud-chat data in a cloud chat and as secret-chat data in a secret chat.
Supporting quotations
If you share a location in a chat, this location data is treated like other messages in
respectively.
Qualifications & exceptions
See the cloud-chat and secret-chat cards for how those chats are stored.
Use & Processing · Company practice
Data of users who signed up from the UK or EEA is stored in Netherlands data centers
If you signed up for Telegram from the UK or the EEA, your data is stored in data centers in the Netherlands. These are third-party data centers where Telegram rents designated space, but Telegram owns the servers and networks inside them on which personal data is stored. Telegram says that for this reason it does not share your personal data with those data centers, and that all data is stored heavily encrypted so local Telegram engineers or physical intruders cannot get access.
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If you signed up for Telegram from the UK or the EEA, your data is stored in data centers in the Netherlands. These are third-party provided data centers in which Telegram rents a designated space. However, the servers and networks that sit inside these data centers and on which your personal data is stored are owned by Telegram. As such, we do not share your personal data with such data centers. All data is stored heavily encrypted so that local Telegram engineers or physical intruders cannot get access.
Qualifications & exceptions
Stated for users who signed up from the UK or the EEA.
Not stated here
This section does not say where data is stored for users who signed up from other places, such as the United States.
Use & Processing · Company practice
Telegram processes your data to deliver your cloud chat history to your chosen devices
Telegram is a cloud service. It says it will process your data to deliver your cloud chat history, including messages, media and files, to any devices you choose, without you needing third-party backups or cloud storage.
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Telegram is a cloud service. We will process your data to deliver your cloud chat history, including messages, media and files, to any devices of your choosing without a need for you to use third-party backups or cloud storage.
Use & Processing · Company commitment
Private chat contents and contact lists are not used for ad targeting or other commercial purposes
Telegram says it does not use the contents of your private chats or contact lists for ad targeting or other commercial purposes, and that it stores only the information it needs to function as a secure and feature-rich cloud service. It also says no contents of private chats or contact lists are mined or analyzed to display ads or sponsored messages.
Supporting quotations
Unlike other services, we don't use the contents of your private chats or contacts lists for ad targeting or other commercial purposes. Telegram only stores the information it needs to function as a secure and feature-rich cloud service.
No contents of private chats or contacts lists are mined or analyzed to display ads or sponsored messages.
Qualifications & exceptions
The commitment covers private chats and contact lists. Section 5.6.1 describes other data that can be used to pick ads (content language, approximate country and city, and large public channels you follow), and section 5.3 allows automated analysis of cloud-chat messages to stop spam and phishing.
Use & Processing · Company practice
Sponsored messages run in large public channels, bots, stories and search, by default targeted by topic or search terms
Telegram offers advertisers a tool to promote their messages in public one-to-many channels with 1,000 subscribers or more, as well as in bots, stories and Telegram's public search. By default, these sponsored messages are based solely on the topic of the public channels or the search terms in which they are shown. Section 5.6.1 describes further data that can also affect which ads are shown.
Supporting quotations
for advertisers to promote their messages in
(with 1,000 subscribers or more), as well as in bots, stories, and Telegram’s public search. By default, these sponsored messages are based solely on the topic of the public channels or search terms in which they are shown.
Qualifications & exceptions
"By default" leaves room for the additional targeting data described in section 5.6.1.
Use & Processing · Company practice
Telegram Premium users do not see ads and are not affected by the Telegram Ad Platform
Telegram says Premium users do not see ads and are not affected by the Telegram Ad Platform, and that the targeting-related data referenced in section 5.6.1 is not processed for such users.
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Telegram Premium users don’t see ads and are not affected by the
Telegram Premium users don’t see ads and are not affected by the Ad Platform. Targeting-related data referenced in this section is not processed for such users.
Qualifications & exceptions
Applies to users with a Telegram Premium subscription.