Telegram restored to Apple App Store after brief suspension

Telegram has been restored to Apple’s App Store after a brief worldwide disappearance triggered by the detection of child sexual abuse material, with the iPhone maker confirming the messaging platform was pulled only after the developer deleted the prohibited content and permanently banned the responsible account. The popular messaging service vanished from the App Store’s search results earlier Friday, preventing new downloads though existing installations continued functioning normally.

“Telegram has been restored on the App Store and should soon be available again for all users,” the platform told Anadolu in response to an inquiry regarding the disruption. The dedicated App Store page has since returned to active status and the application is available through direct search results.

Violation details

Apple confirmed it suspended Telegram following a review that identified content violating guidelines against child sexual abuse material. In a statement to 9to5Mac, the technology giant said the application was restored only after the developer removed the offending material and permanently banned the user responsible for posting it.

Platform availability

The application remained available throughout the incident on Google’s Play Store for Android users. Apple previously removed Telegram from its store in 2018, when founder Pavel Durov attributed the takedown to the platform making “inappropriate content” available to users.