Telegram Android Update Released Following iOS Apps’ Child Porn Controversy

Non-profit cloud-based instant messaging service Telegram is rolling out a new update for its Android app. The rollout comes after its iOS apps were pulled from the App Store due to child pornography content.

On Tuesday, Telegram released a new version of its Android app, v4.8. The update enables users to stream videos they have received on the app. This means users will no longer need to download videos that were sent to them since they can already watch them the moment they are uploaded.

V4.8 also enables the Auto-Night Mode feature. With this feature, the interface of the app automatically switches to the dark version after nightfall or in low-light conditions. Interestingly, Android Police has learned that there’s a slew of additional themes as well. Hence, users can freely choose the one they want to assign to the interface via the “Preferred Night Mode” settings.

Telegram’s latest update for the Android app also comes with a new Login widget. This basically allows users to login to external websites and services using their Telegram account. The first time users access this feature, they will be asked to provide their account phone number so they can receive a confirmation code to authorize the external browser. Users will find the list of the sites they sent their Telegram login info to in the latest version’s Privacy & Security settings.

The rollout of the new Android update comes around a week after the Telegram app and its more efficient counterpart, Telegram X, for iOS devices were abruptly removed from the App Store. At the time, Apple only indicated that the secure messaging apps were pulled due to “inappropriate content.”

Then earlier this week, 9To5Mac obtained a copy of the email exchange between a Telegram user and Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller about the removed mobile apps. “The Telegram apps were taken down off the App Store because the App Store team was alerted to illegal content, specifically child pornography, in the apps,” Schiller wrote.

Schiller explained that they verified the existence of the child pornography content before removing the Telegram apps from the App Store. “After verifying the existence of the illegal content, the team took the apps down from the store, alerted the developer, and notified the proper authorities, including the NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children),” he stated.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has since issued a statement about the controversy saying, “We were alerted by Apple that inappropriate content was made available to our users and both apps were taken off the App Store. Once we have protections in place we expect the apps to be back on the App Store.”