Reviewed Jun 2026 · policies are checked weekly for changes · stated — every cell is read from Telegram's published policy; none has been tested (run by us) yet.
2Accessstated
Telegram Desktop has a self-serve "Export Telegram data" tool (Settings > Export Telegram data) that exports your chats and media with no request or email mediation; note the export tool is Desktop-only and is not available in the mobile apps.
Telegram — Chat Export Tool (blog) · accessed Jun 2026 ↗2Portabilitystated
The Desktop export delivers your full account — chats and media — as structured machine-readable JSON (or formatted HTML). Scored on scope: a whole-account structured export earns a 2 regardless of how many formats are offered.
Telegram — export in JSON or HTML · accessed Jun 2026 ↗2Deletionstated
You can delete your account self-serve at my.telegram.org/delete (log in with your phone and an in-app code), which the policy says removes all messages, media, contacts and other data; an inactivity auto-delete setting also applies (default 18 months).
Telegram — account deletion portal · accessed Jun 2026 ↗2Sells / sharesstated
Telegram’s updated policy states "we don’t use the contents of your private chats or contacts lists for ad targeting or other commercial purposes." Sponsored messages run in large public channels, bots, stories and public search — matched by default to channel topic or search terms, and for users following many large channels, to the categories of channels they follow — and Telegram states this targeting data "cannot be disclosed to any third parties – advertisers included."
Telegram Privacy Policy — §5.6 and §5.6.1 · accessed Jun 2026 ↗
1API access — feeds Agent Readiness, not the /12stated
There is no consumer OAuth flow that returns your own Telegram message data: the Bot API only sees messages sent to a bot, the Login widget shares identity only, and the MTProto / TDLib path lets you script access to your own messages but only via a one-time developer api_id tied to your phone number — a developer-key registration, not a grant / revoke OAuth flow — so agent access is scored at the partial level.
Telegram — obtaining an api_id (MTProto developer key) · accessed Jun 2026 ↗
Reviewed Jun 2026 from Telegram’s Privacy Policy and its export/deletion docs; Sells / shares re-verified 2026-08-30 against the updated policy (event ev-2026-0002). All cells "stated", not tested. Telegram offers a self-serve local data export (Telegram Desktop only) in JSON or HTML and self-serve account deletion at my.telegram.org/delete. The updated policy narrows its headline principle to content — no ads from the contents of chats or contact lists — and expands sponsored messages to bots, stories and public search, with first-party category targeting from the channels a user follows; it states this targeting data cannot be disclosed to any third parties, advertisers included. The policy remains silent on AI-model training, and there is no consumer OAuth API for your own message data. Separately, a Sept 2024 policy change allows disclosing a user’s IP and phone number to authorities on a valid legal order — a law-enforcement disclosure, distinct from commercial sale.
Events
Breaches, policy changes, and export-format changes we’ve recorded at Telegram — other parties’ actions, alongside the enforcement record above. An event never changes a grade by itself. All events →
22 Aug 2026Telegram narrowed its no-ads principle. The policy ruled out using your data for ads; it now rules out only the contents of your chats and contact lists, and sponsored messages now also appear in bots and stories.policy change
On the events page →
Grade history
Every change to this company’s grade since it was first published, and why. All grade changes →
30 Aug 2026Sells / shares your datasource
Telegram rewrote its privacy principles (event ev-2026-0002): the quoted sentence "We don’t use your data to show you ads" no longer exists, so the cell is re-sourced to the updated §5.6 and §5.6.1. The score holds at 2: Telegram states its ad-targeting data cannot be disclosed to any third parties, advertisers included — the same first-party shape that scores Apple a 2 — while the companies at 1 share data with outside ad partners. What changed is scope: the promise now covers the contents of chats and contact lists rather than "your data" wholesale, and sponsored messages can be matched to the categories of large public channels a user follows.
Telegram Privacy Policy — §5.6 and §5.6.1 ↗Followed a published event →Previously: Telegram Privacy Policy — No Ads Based on User Data