Telegram and Internet Crime Investigations

Telegram is a messaging and broadcasting app with large public channels and groups. Telegram offers end-to-end encrypted “secret chats,” while standard chats are stored in Telegram’s cloud so they sync across devices. In 2024, Telegram updated its policy on sharing user information with authorities. This page gives general background on Telegram and how investigations involving it often happen. For more on Telegram content as evidence, see Telegram evidence in criminal cases.

Background and History of Telegram

Telegram was launched in 2013 by brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov, who earlier founded the Russian social network VK. The company is now based in Dubai. In September 2024, Telegram updated its privacy policy on disclosures to authorities.

Telegram Features and Services

Telegram offers one-on-one chats, groups that can hold very large numbers of members, broadcast channels, bots, file sharing, and voice and video calls. Standard “cloud chats” are stored on Telegram’s servers so they sync across devices; only optional “secret chats” are end-to-end encrypted. Users can sign up with a phone number and display a username instead.

How People Use Telegram

Telegram is used legitimately by more than a billion people for fast messaging, large group chats, and file sharing across phones and computers. Its public channels let news organizations, public figures, businesses, and government bodies broadcast updates directly to large audiences, and many communities use Telegram groups to organize around shared interests, work, or study. Developers also build bots on Telegram to automate tasks and provide services. For many users, Telegram is a flexible tool for communication and information.

How Many People Use Telegram?

Pavel Durov said in March 2025 that Telegram had passed 1 billion monthly active users. We did not locate a reliable official figure for U.S. users.

How Investigations Involving Telegram Often Begin

Many investigations involving Telegram do not start with a police officer stumbling onto something. They start with a report. Online providers based in the United States are required by federal law to report apparent child sexual abuse material that they become aware of to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which runs the CyberTipline. NCMEC reviews each report, tries to work out where the user is located, and makes reports available to the appropriate law enforcement agency, often an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force or a federal agency such as Homeland Security Investigations or the FBI. For more on what happens after a report is made, see what a CyberTipline report is and what happens next.

Telegram does not appear in NCMEC’s published 2025 list of companies that submitted CyberTipline reports. As a result, Telegram investigations in the United States more often begin in other ways: undercover officers who join groups or channels, information found on a phone seized in another case, reports from other users, or a conversation that started on another platform and moved to Telegram.

What Records Telegram May Have and How Police Request Them

When investigators want records from Telegram, they generally have to use legal process. In broad terms, basic account and subscriber information is often requested with a subpoena, more detailed records with a court order, and the content of messages or files with a search warrant, although the exact rules depend on the type of data, the jurisdiction, and the circumstances. Investigators also commonly send a preservation request, which asks the company to hold onto existing records while the legal process is prepared. What a company actually has depends on its products, its retention practices, and the user’s own settings, and those practices change over time.

Telegram’s privacy policy now states that if it receives a valid order from the relevant judicial authorities confirming that a user is a suspect in a case involving criminal activity that violates Telegram’s terms, it will perform a legal analysis and may disclose the user’s IP address and phone number. As a company based outside the United States, Telegram may respond differently to U.S. legal process than U.S. companies do. In practice, much Telegram evidence in U.S. cases comes from devices and from the other party to a conversation.

Connecting a Telegram Account to a Person

A record showing that a Telegram account did something is not the same thing as proof that a particular person did it. Investigators typically try to connect an account to a person using things like the email address or phone number used to register, IP addresses from logins, subscriber records from an internet or wireless provider, device identifiers, payment records, and what is found on devices during a search. Each link in that chain can raise questions: shared homes and shared Wi-Fi, devices used by more than one person, VPNs, carrier networks that place many customers behind one IP address, compromised accounts, and gaps in the records. These are the kinds of issues a defense attorney may look at closely, case by case, under current law. The firm discusses this further in how police connect online accounts to a person.

Examples From Reported Cases

The examples below are drawn from public announcements and news reports. They are described generally and without names. Charges are only accusations, and anyone charged is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. These summaries are not a prediction of how any other case will turn out.

• In Florida, a man pleaded guilty in 2024 and was sentenced in 2025 after prosecutors said he had purchased illegal images through Telegram in 2022 from a person he communicated with on the app. Investigators found files on his phone.
• In New York in 2026, federal prosecutors filed a complaint alleging that a man exchanged illegal files on Telegram. The complaint described Telegram records obtained with a grand jury subpoena that tied the Telegram account to a phone number, which was also linked to the man’s Twitter (now X) account. The charges are allegations.

Related Articles on InternetCrime.com

• Platform Investigations: all platforms
• Social Media Crimes and Digital Evidence
• Telegram Evidence in Criminal Cases
• How Police Connect Online Accounts to a Person
• Child Pornography Defense
• Distribution Charges

If You Are Under Investigation Involving Telegram

If police have contacted you, if a search warrant has been served, or if you believe an investigation involving a Telegram account may be underway, it is important to get legal advice before taking any action on your own. Attorney Ron Frey generally advises speaking with an attorney before answering questions or agreeing to a search. Whether a person may be required to provide a password or unlock a device depends on the circumstances, the jurisdiction, and any search warrant or court order involved, so that decision should be made with an attorney’s advice (see should I provide my password to the police or FBI?).

You have the right to remain silent. Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Laws change and vary from state to state and between state and federal court, and the way they apply depends on the specific facts. Please don’t rely on the internet or on AI tools to evaluate your situation. Every case is different, and contacting an attorney is a priority to get tailored advice.

Attorney Ron Frey of The Frey Law Firm, LLC has been practicing law for over two decades and represents people nationally in internet and computer crime investigations and charges. He is a conference speaker and published author.

Attorney Ron Frey Is Available for a Free Initial Confidential Consultation: Call or Text (844) 766-3739. In Florida, call (813) 775-2276. You can also reach the firm through the contact page.

References

• Telegram, Privacy Policy (law enforcement section)
• Pavel Durov, Telegram channel post on Telegram reaching 1 billion monthly active users (Mar. 2025)
• NCMEC, “2025 CyberTipline Reports by Electronic Service Providers (ESP)”
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida, press release (May 2025)
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, criminal complaint (2026; contains graphic descriptions)
• Telegram, Channels FAQ
• Wikipedia, “Telegram (software)” (background)

Important: This page provides general information only. It is not legal advice, and it is not a complete or current statement of the law or of any company’s policies. Laws, court decisions, and platform practices change, and their effect depends on the facts of each case and on how courts interpret them. User figures and report counts come from the sources listed and may since have changed. Platform names and logos are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the services discussed; The Frey Law Firm, LLC is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these companies. Please don’t rely on this page, or on any other information online, to make decisions about your situation. Talk with a lawyer. Reading this page or contacting The Frey Law Firm, LLC does not create an attorney-client relationship. Last reviewed: October 26, 2026.