Apple pulled the Telegram app from the App Store Monday night, after the apparent discovery of content that violated its guidelines against child sexual abuse material (CSAM). However, the app was restored a short while later, reports Reuters.
The first notices of the app’s removal began appearing around 9:30 p.m. ET Monday, with users reporting that searches for Telegram on the App Store were returning nothing and the app’s direct listing showing a “page can’t be found” error. Existing users were not affected and could keep using the app on their device. Telegram also remained available on the Mac App Store. The app returned to the App Store roughly 40 minutes later, around 10:10 p.m. ET.
Apple’s explanation for the takedown came in a statement:
We briefly removed Telegram from the App Store after our review found content that violates our strict guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material. The app was subsequently restored after the developer promptly removed the content and banned the user who posted it.
Telegram said the action stemmed from a single account. “Apple reported one user sharing CSAM, who was immediately banned,” the company said, adding that it has removed more than 337,900 groups and channels related to CSAM in 2026, on top of 29,640 removals in 2025 following reports from groups including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Telegram was a bit snarky after being restored to the App Store, posting on X: “reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated” along with an apple emoji.
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, a longtime critic of App Store policy, saw the opportunity to lash out at Apple, saying on X that the takedown showed the need for more competition in app distribution. “Apple’s App Store desperately needs competition worldwide,” Sweeney wrote. “Apple capriciously removes a vital communication and privacy tool from availability to a billion users, and sadly this is business as usual.” He went on to question the consistency of the standard Apple applied, noting the company “did not elaborate on how, if that is the standard for app removal, any communications app could operate at scale, including iMessage.”