Telegram briefly pulled from the App Store over child sexual abuse material availability

Update: 11:00 p.m. ET: In a statement to 9to5Mac, Apple said:

“We briefly removed Telegram from the App Store after our review found content that violates our strict guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material. The app was subsequently restored after the developer promptly removed the content and banned the user who posted it.”

Apple’s statement came about 20 minutes after access to the app was restored. Earlier tonight, Telegram published a tongue-in-cheek post on X saying, “Reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated 🍎.” Telegram has yet to comment on the actual reason for its brief removal. The original story follows below.

Messaging platform Telegram appears to have been removed from the App Store in multiple countries, although the reason for its apparent removal remains unclear.

Existing users can still access the app

As of Monday evening, searches for Telegram on the iOS and iPadOS App Store were no longer returning the messaging app for some users across several regions.

At the time of writing, however, Telegram remains available through the Mac App Store. The app also appears to remain available through Google Play.

Neither Apple nor Telegram has issued statements about the situation. 9to5Mac has reached out to Apple, and we’ll update this post if we hear back or as soon as more information becomes available.

Telegram has been removed from the App Store before

While it is too early to confirm that Telegram has been removed from the App Store, Apple has pulled the app before, both globally and in individual countries.

In February 2018, Apple temporarily removed Telegram from the App Store after discovering what it classified as “inappropriate content” in the app.

At the time, Telegram founder Pavel Durov said that Apple had alerted the company to the availability of the content, prompting Telegram to introduce additional protections before the app was restored.

In 2023, Telegram was temporarily banned in Brazil for failing to provide authorities with information about groups accused of promoting violence in schools.

In 2024, the app was removed from the Chinese App Store alongside WhatsApp, Threads, and Signal after Apple received an order from the country’s internet regulator. The removal remains in effect.

Why do you think Telegram is currently unavailable in the App Store? Let us know in the comments.