Messaging App Telegram Pulled From Apple's App Store Due To 'Inappropriate Content'

An anonymous reader shares a report: Apple has removed Telegram's official app from its iOS App Store. The app disappeared yesterday, shortly after Telegram launched a rewritten Telegram X app for Android. Telegram X is currently in testing on iOS, and it was also removed from the App Store. "We were alerted by Apple that inappropriate content was made available to our users and both apps were taken off the App Store," says Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. "Once we have protections in place we expect the apps to be back on the App Store."

Re:

[Khyber]

"These are exactly the kinds of things I look for in a distributed social networking service."

You know what I look for? A release that begins with a 1.0, because until it reaches that stage, I don't want to fucking touch it.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[Rakarra]

This is why we need to use the open source Diaspora [wikipedia.org] platform for all of our online communication needs. According to Wikipedia, Diaspora is "a distributed social networking service".

Is it possible to talk about naughty things with Diaspora? Because that's why Telegram was banned from the App Store -- users were able to set up adult-oriented chat channels.
Open source, closed source, doesn't matter -- if you want on iOS devices, and everyone does, apparently, you have to concede to Apple's strong-arm tactics.

Re:

[Carewolf]

It's not censorship, but the walled garden sure makes the echo chamber loud.

So you can't sext on Apple's messenger? I find that hard to believe, so this is just removing cross-platform competitors from their platform.. I guess facebook and whatsapp are up next

ICO anyone?

[GeekWithAKnife]

Couldn't be due to the ICO for telegram and potentially allowing telegram tokens transferred through encrypted chat that cannot be eavesdropped on?

Good guess? :-)

'Inappropriate Content'

[xvan]

What can be inappropriate about a messenger app?

Re: 'Inappropriate Content'

[TWX]

Have you seen some of the screencaps pulled from Snapchat?

Re:

[ourlovecanlastforeve]

If they're banning Telegram for inappropriate content they should also ban iMessage and Mail and iCloud storage because you can send porn through that too.

Re: 'Inappropriate Content'

[Hal_Porter]

Google pulled gab.ai from the Play store because gab.ai didn't have a censorship policy that Google approved of. So did Apple.

https://www.scribd.com/documen... [scribd.com]

Re:

[wardrich86]

Difference is that the Android version could be distributed via APK in other, easy ways whereas the Apple version is pretty much fucked.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

We don't use the initials A P K around here...

Re:

[Hal_Porter]

And if you read the document I linked to they explain why that is not the same thing as having it available from the Play Store on page 13 onwards.

It reminds me a bit of the Chinese Communist Party apologist line that 'well you can access blocked websites via VPN', before the CCP decided to have a crackdown on VPNs. Yeah, you can but not many people do. And websites that need to be accessed via VPN have a competitive disadvantage to ones that you can access without one.

I.e. you don't need to have an absolut

Re:

[wardrich86]

I have no idea what you're getting at, but okay... all I was trying to say was that as an Android user, I don't have to fear Mama Google pulling away apps, because the developer has the option to release the program as an APK and distribute the software that way. You can also run Android totally free of Google Services if you really wanted.

Re: 'Inappropriate Content'

[spire3661]

This is a real fucking issue. At some point we are going to have to force them both to allow ANY legal app or we have a real censorship problem. Google and Apple should NOT be gatekeepers of 'inappropriate'.

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[tlhIngan]

This is a real fucking issue. At some point we are going to have to force them both to allow ANY legal app or we have a real censorship problem. Google and Apple should NOT be gatekeepers of 'inappropriate'.

Actually, for Apple it's quite easy. If the app is 18+, go right ahead. Most apps that are online communications app are simply marked as 18+ and don't bother censoring.

If the app is not marked 18+, then you better not allow any form of penis or other thing to be sent to anyone not over 18. For a messagi

Re:

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

So no problem, censorship-wise. Only problem is number of apps they can sell in the reduced 18+ market?

Re:

[Plumpaquatsch]

What can be inappropriate about a messenger app?

You didn't RTFA, did you. No, I'm not going to QTFA, RTFA yourself.

Removed from App Store

[hcs_$reboot]

Let's hope it's not also removed from iPhones currently using it,

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[hcs_$reboot]

Proof?

Re:

[angel'o'sphere]

No it is not ... it runs on my iPhone and iPad just fine.

Never heard about Apple removing already installed apps from a users device. That would be illegal in EU I guess, no idea about USA, though.

Re:

[Falos]

Then they'll simply remove a pipe dependency (check-in, API block, whatever) they control, rendering the un-touched MUH PROPERTY software inert.

Re:

[Falos]

Edit: Would*, if they sufficiently cared. Store removal will achieve their ends, temporary or long-term.

Re:

[ilsaloving]

No, they're not like Amazon. However, if you remove your copy, you won't be able to install it again.

Wish Apple would also block trackers in apps!

[yuvcifjt]

Far too many apps on the AppStore which utilise trackers of all sorts, most famous being Google analytics and other Google adware tools, but more so other companies that use advanced forms of fingerprinting [slashdot.org] such as playing sound / detecting sound outside the human listening wavelength [techcrunch.com] as well as watching movement of fingers across the screen.

But seeing as Android [statcounter.com] and Windows 10 [statcounter.com] are now the most dominant OS globally, most sheep obviously don't care about their privacy (or they're clueless of it).

Re:Wish Apple would also block trackers in apps!

[CaptainDork]

You left out your anti-sheep solution.

Re:

[Archangel Michael]

You forgot Hot Grits and Natalie Portman.

Re:

[tepples]

I guess anti-sheep is to buy a device that supports Replicant OS and obtain apps from the F-Droid repository.

Re:

[Carewolf]

Far too many apps on the AppStore which utilise trackers of all sorts, most famous being Google analytics and other Google adware tools, but more so other companies that use advanced forms of fingerprinting [slashdot.org] such as playing sound / detecting sound outside the human listening wavelength [techcrunch.com] as well as watching movement of fingers across the screen.

But seeing as Android [statcounter.com] and Windows 10 [statcounter.com] are now the most dominant OS globally, most sheep obviously don't care about their privacy (or they're clueless of it).

Windows 10 was just trying (and failing) to catch up to Mac in collect user data.. They are still far behind since they have trouble getting people to use their app-store, where macsheep are more pliable

Re:

[Rakarra]

Lots of people are making sensorship comments, but with our knowing what the inappropriate content was it's hard to make any real determination about why Apple removed the app.

Apple and Telegram have been fighting publicly for quite some time about what to do about "adult channels." Not just one user sending another user adult content, but IRC-style chat channels.

Re:

[Rakarra]

Of course you have to jailbreak it, which comes with a whole huge swarm of other problems. Good luck with that.

Re:

[Plumpaquatsch]

Of course you have to jailbreak it, which comes with a whole huge swarm of other problems. Good luck with that.

Of course you don't have to jailbreak it - click the fucking link, you moron. Second sentence:

Hope is not lost, however, as there's still a way to install modded and unofficial apps on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch without any jailbreak.

Do you know what that means? That you don't have to jailbreak it.

Re:

[Plumpaquatsch]

Due to Apple's restrictions on free accounts, any IPA files sideloaded using a regular Apple ID will need to be sideloaded again every seven days. Legitimate Apple Developer ID users need only to reinstall once a year, but we'll leave it up to you to decide whether or not it's worth the $100 price of paying Apple for developer privileges, when sideloading is relatively fast and pain-free.

Great UX, resembling that of legitimate Apple software.

Still less painful than using Lineage.

You got to be kidding me.

[blind biker]

I am not going to address how ludicrous the allegation is in the context of a messaging app.

But I will point out that Telegram is a fairly popular open source and independent Whatsapp replacement. This is something Fuckerberg hates, and has probably asked Apple to do something about.

I just downloaded and installed it

[SlaveToTheGrind]

Either Apple reversed itself within a couple of hours, or the authors didn't bother to check whether it was still unavailable before publishing.

Why is Telegram rated for ages 4 and up?

[Dahan]

What I want to know is why Telegram thinks they should get a 4+ age rating [apple.com]. I think 12+ would be be more appropriate--or even 17+, which I note is what it has on Google Play [google.com]. Apple wouldn't get on Telegram's case about noods if they didn't claim they were appropriate for kids.

Re:

[Carewolf]

It is a messaging app...... why would it have any age rating at all? Are you going to be turning SMS features off in phones for kids under 17?

Re: Why is Telegram rated for ages 4 and up?

[Brockmire]

Sending unsolicited nudes by SMS to a minor is likely illegal in various places. It's also not Apple's problem or ability to filter SMS.

Re:

[Carewolf]

Sending unsolicited nudes by SMS to a minor is likely illegal in various places. It's also not Apple's problem or ability to filter SMS.

Neither is it in a messenging app. It is there job to stop themselves from providing the wrong content to the wrong users, but a messaging app is content free.

Apple's own solution is supposedly encrypted, and Apple claims they can't decrypt it, if so, it must also be uncensored. So just as "mature" as this other competing messaging app.