According to Cointelegraph, Telegram announced that due to the company's restructuring, Telegram Wallet will temporarily restrict the use of British users, and the service will be restored after the company is registered as a corporate asset provider. The company decided to register as a crypto asset provider in accordance with FCA regulations and disable the in-app wallet function for UK residents before obtaining the appropriate regulatory license.
Additionally, UK users can withdraw funds to external wallets free of charge during this period, and the company will provide account updates to customers.
Telegram also announced that it would share user data, including phone numbers and IP addresses, with law enforcement, sparking concerns among privacy and anti-censorship advocates. Pavel Durov said the measures were intended to protect platform users from criminal activity.
In September 2024, Durov announced that Telegram would disable the personal geolocation feature and replace it with a "Nearby Businesses" option. At the same time, Telegram stopped supporting the "Telegraph" blogging tool because a small number of malicious users abused the platform to spread illegal content.