Incident #33DBE3 · 21 AUG 2026notable
Telegram narrows its no-ads-from-your-data promise and adds location and interest-based ad targeting
Telegram's blanket promise not to use your data for ads is replaced by a narrower one covering only the contents of private chats and contact lists. A new section describes ads targeted by approximate country and city (from phone number area code or IP address), content language, and the channels a user follows. Ads also expand to bots, stories and public search; Premium users don't see ads.
Taken from you
- Blanket promise that your data is not used for ad targeting; now only chat contents and contact lists are excluded
- Ads may be targeted using approximate country/city derived from phone number or IP address
- Ads may be selected based on the channels you follow and their categories
- Ads now appear in bots, stories and public search, not only public channels
Won back
- Stated that targeting data is not disclosed to advertisers or other third parties
- Premium users don't see ads and their targeting data isn't processed
- Statement that no precise location tracking is used and that rights in section 9 remain unaffected
Evidence · 4 of 4 quotes matched in source
Unlike other services, we don't use the contents of your private chats or contacts lists for ad targeting or other commercial purposes.+ inserted · ✓ matched in source
To keep ads relevant, ads can be shown in a particular country and city, approximated based on the country and area code of a user's phone number or their IP address.+ inserted · ✓ matched in source
Users may also see ads selected on the basis of the channels they follow.+ inserted · ✓ matched in source
Archived version ↗ · 508 words changed