Telegram CEO Says Apple Holding Back 'Revolutionary' Messaging Update

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov slammed Apple for its app "review process" that he claims has been delaying an upcoming app update that's supposed to make a "revolutionary" change in the app's messaging system.

In a Telegram post published Thursday, Durov said the messaging app is "unable to distribute new versions of Telegram due to the obscure 'review process' imposed on all mobile apps by the tech monopolies." Durov explained that the upcoming update "is about to revolutionize how people express themselves in messaging," but the update has been "stuck" in Apple's review "for two weeks, without explanation or any feedback" from the tech giant.

Durov went on to note that if Telegram is experiencing such "treatment" from Apple, smaller apps may be going through greater difficulties while waiting for an update approval. "It's not just demoralizing: it causes direct financial losses to hundred of thousands of mobile apps globally," he wrote.

Finally, Durov went on to note that European Union regulators "are slowly starting to look into these abusive practices." Apple has yet to comment on Durov's latest statement on the reported approval delay.

This is not the first time Durov called out Apple for its update approval delays. In 2018, the Telegram founder said Apple blocked updates to the Telegram iOS app after Russia announced a ban on the messaging app. At that time, Durov said Apple "didn't side with us" when Russia banned the app. He revealed that the ban was implemented due to Telegram's supposed refusal "to provide decryption keys for all our users' communications to Russia's security agencies."

Just one day after Durov posted his sentiments about the Russia ban and Apple's "block" of the Telegram update in 2018, the iPhone maker approved an updated version of the messaging app, The Verge reported.

Telegram is just one of the app giants that called out Apple over its App Review process. Last year, Hopscotch co-founder and CEO Samantha John revealed in a Twitter thread that she was met with difficulties in submitting an app update to Apple's App Store.

In her Twitter thread, John noted that the update was supposed to fix bugs, but she claimed that Apple rejected the update for reasons not related to the bug issue. John said the update was rejected twice before a representative reportedly said that the "rejection was a mistake." Apple has since reached out to John to apologize.