Telegram’s refusal to hand over encryption keys
Posted: Mon May 19, 2025 4:30 am
Telegram uses servers that are geographically closer to reduce latency and improve responsiveness. However, due to political pressure and internet censorship laws, Telegram avoids placing any user data in countries with poor digital rights records. North America and Latin America: Telegram provides optimized routing through data centers or relay servers in the Americas to support a growing user base in these regions. As with the EU, Telegram ensures that data of U.S. users stays within appropriate jurisdictions unless otherwise required for optimization. Russia and China: Telegram has had contentious relationships with countries like Russia and China. In fact, to Russian authorities led to a ban attempt, which it circumvented using a cloud-based proxy network.
Telegram does not operate any data centers in these countries, instead routing traffic through nearby safe zones. Telegram founder Pavel Durov has repeatedly emphasized that Telegram will not host user iran telegram data data in countries where the company cannot guarantee user privacy and independence from government surveillance. How Telegram Uses Distributed Data Centers Telegram uses a concept of decentralized infrastructure, meaning the application’s functionality is not tied to a single central server. Instead, it uses multiple interconnected data centers to offer redundancy, fault tolerance, and scalability. This approach ensures that even if one center is compromised or temporarily offline, others can take over, ensuring uninterrupted service.
Telegram’s distributed data centers operate in two main ways: Cloud Storage: For regular (non-secret) chats, Telegram stores messages and media on its cloud servers. This allows users to access their data from multiple devices seamlessly. Messages in cloud chats are encrypted on Telegram’s servers using a combination of AES and RSA algorithms. However, Telegram does retain access to the decryption keys for cloud chat data. Relay and Routing Servers: Telegram uses additional server nodes that handle traffic routing. These servers determine the fastest and most efficient paths to transmit messages and files, ensuring high-speed delivery even in low-bandwidth areas.
Telegram does not operate any data centers in these countries, instead routing traffic through nearby safe zones. Telegram founder Pavel Durov has repeatedly emphasized that Telegram will not host user iran telegram data data in countries where the company cannot guarantee user privacy and independence from government surveillance. How Telegram Uses Distributed Data Centers Telegram uses a concept of decentralized infrastructure, meaning the application’s functionality is not tied to a single central server. Instead, it uses multiple interconnected data centers to offer redundancy, fault tolerance, and scalability. This approach ensures that even if one center is compromised or temporarily offline, others can take over, ensuring uninterrupted service.
Telegram’s distributed data centers operate in two main ways: Cloud Storage: For regular (non-secret) chats, Telegram stores messages and media on its cloud servers. This allows users to access their data from multiple devices seamlessly. Messages in cloud chats are encrypted on Telegram’s servers using a combination of AES and RSA algorithms. However, Telegram does retain access to the decryption keys for cloud chat data. Relay and Routing Servers: Telegram uses additional server nodes that handle traffic routing. These servers determine the fastest and most efficient paths to transmit messages and files, ensuring high-speed delivery even in low-bandwidth areas.