Telegram Collecting IP Addresses for Advertising, Sparks Controversy

Telegram Messenger Updates Advertising System

Telegram Messenger has made significant updates to its advertising system, allowing advertisers to now collect IP addresses of users who have not subscribed to the premium subscription for targeted advertising.

The new feature enables advertisers to purposefully display ads in specific countries and cities based on the information gathered from IP addresses. It is important to note that Telegram clarified that no other geolocation data will be collected or used for this purpose.

In a press release, Telegram elaborated on how this innovation will help in avoiding advertising in particular countries or territories. For instance, if advertisers wish to place an ad in Russian but do not want it to be visible in Russia, this updated system will provide the necessary tools to achieve their advertising goals.

In addition to this, advertisers now have the ability to transmit an anonymous list of encrypted identifiers derived from telephone numbers in Telegram, without directly using the numbers themselves. This enables advertisers to target their ads to a specific audience. For example, a store can securely transfer its encrypted database of telephone numbers in Telegram to offer special promotions to their customers.

These changes exclusively apply to users who do not have a premium subscription. Telegram assures its users that the data of premium users will not be collected as part of this updated advertising system.

/Reports, release notes, official announcements.