Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has also spoken out about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He said Telegram would respect the privacy of Ukrainian user data and would not share it with Russia.
Since Telegram has become one of the preferred communication services for Ukrainians in the midst of the conflict, many people are worried that this messaging app will pass user data to Russian authorities, considering that Durov was originally born in Russia.
One of them is Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike who said Telegram or its employees could be pressured to hand over personal data of Ukrainian users to Russia. Moreover, messages sent via Telegram are not protected by end-to-end encryption by default.
A Telegram spokesman said it had never provided any user data to Russian authorities. "Pavel Durov, neither personally nor through his company, has never provided any data about Ukrainian citizens to the Russian government," a Telegram spokesman said, as quoted by Forbes, Tuesday (8/3/2022).
Durov also stressed his commitment not to share Ukrainian user data with Russian authorities. In a post on his personal Telegram channel, Durov revealed how his relationship with Ukraine and the Russian government affected his current attitude.
Durov who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia says that he has Ukrainian blood from his mother's family. "On my mother's side, I traced my family line from Kyiv," Durov said.
"Her maiden name is Ukrainian (Ivanenko), and until recently we had many relatives living in Ukraine. That's why this tragic conflict is personal to me and Telegram."
9 years ago I defended the private data of Ukrainians from the Russian government — and lost my company and my home. I would do it again without hesitation. https://t.co/GUFCjbqDc5
— Pavel Durov (@durov) March 7, 2022
The 37-year-old also shared his story when he left Russia in 2013. Durov is one of the founders of the popular social media service VK in Russia.
In 2013, the Russian federal police (FSB) asked Durov to provide data on Ukrainian VK users who opposed the then pro-Russian President of Ukraine.
Durov refused the request, then lost control of his company, and then fled Russia. He later founded Telegram which is headquartered in Dubai, and VK is currently controlled by the Russian government.
"I lost my company and my house, but I would do it again -- without a doubt," Durov said.
"I support our users no matter what. Their right to privacy is something sacred. Especially at this time," he continued.
Although Signal's popularity has surged the fastest since the Russian invasion, Telegram has become the Ukrainian government's messaging app of choice for providing updates and attack alerts.
Data from Check Point shows a sixfold increase in the number of war-themed Telegram groups. Nearly a quarter of these groups were created to coordinate cyber attacks on Russia, including digital soldiers recruited by the Ukrainian government.