Apple Delaying Telegram From Releasing Major App Store Update, Telegram CEO Says [Updated]

Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, is lashing out against Apple over the company's "obscure" App Store review process that is delaying Telegram from releasing an update to its app that will "revolutionize how people express themselves in messaging."

telegram app icon
In his Telegram channel, Durov says that an update to Telegram for iOS that will change how people communicate has been stuck in Apple's ‌App Store‌ review process for over two weeks, with no communication from the company over why or when it will be approved. Durov points out that if an app as popular as Telegram receives this treatment, one can "imagine the difficulties experienced by smaller app developers."

For example, our upcoming update – which is about to revolutionize how people express themselves in messaging – has been stuck in Apple's "review" for two weeks, without explanation or any feedback provided by Apple.

If Telegram, one of the top 10 most popular apps globally, is receiving this treatment, one can only imagine the difficulties experienced by smaller app developers. It's not just demoralizing: it causes direct financial losses to hundred of thousands of mobile apps globally.

Durov, a vocal critic of Apple and its ‌App Store‌ in the past, points out the controversial "Apple tax," which gives Apple a 30% cut of certain in-app purchases from eligible apps that make over $1 million annually. Durov calls Apple's behavior "abusive" and says that damage inflicted by the company "can't be undone."

This harm goes on top of the 30% tax Apple and Google take from app developers – which, according to them, is supposed to pay for the resources needed to review apps. The regulators in the EU and elsewhere are slowly starting to look into these abusive practices. But the economic damage that has already been inflicted by Apple on the tech industry won't be undone.

It's unclear why Apple is delaying Telegram's app update from reaching the millions of Telegram users. Most apps are typically reviewed fairly quickly, so the long wait in this instance is particularly interesting. Telegram is one of the most popular messaging services on the ‌App Store‌, competing with the likes of WhatsApp, Instagram, Signal, and Apple's iMessage service.

On its website, Apple says, "every week, over 500 dedicated experts around the world review over 100K apps," adding that over 1 million submissions are rejected.

Update: Telegram's update has since been approved on the ‌App Store‌, with the exception of new animated versions of Apple's emoji called Telemoji that Telegram had planned to release. Apple's ‌App Store‌ Review Guidelines do not allow apps to replicate Apple's emoji.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...
General Apple Invites Feature

Apple Launches New 'Invites' App

Tuesday February 4, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple today announced the launch of a new app called "Invites," which is designed to allow users to plan events like birthday parties, graduations, vacations, baby showers, and more. "With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together," said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple's senior director of...
App Store vs EU Feature 2

Apple Says It Doesn't Approve of EU Porn App

Monday February 3, 2025 1:15 pm PST by
Apple does not approve of the "Hot Tub" pornography app that was released for the iPhone in the EU using alternative app distribution, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. Further, Apple is concerned about the potential user safety risks with a pornography app, and says that it undermines consumer trust in the Apple ecosystem. We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore...
maxresdefault

An Apple TV Refresh is Coming in 2025 - Here's What You Should Know

Wednesday February 5, 2025 10:17 am PST by
Apple hasn't refreshed the Apple TV since 2022, but rumors suggest that we're finally going to get an update in 2025. We don't have a full picture of what to expect yet, but we have some hints on what's coming. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Updated A-Series Chip The current Apple TV 4K uses the A15 Bionic chip that was in the iPhone 13 lineup, and it's time for...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb

iPhone SE 4 Launching as Soon as Next Week

Thursday February 6, 2025 3:30 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone SE could debut as soon as next week with a launch to follow later in February, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple isn't expected to hold an event for the iPhone SE 4, and will instead unveil the device through a press release. The iPhone SE 4 is expected to have an iPhone 14-style design, with Apple eliminating the thick bezels and Touch ID Home button of...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Raises Monthly AppleCare+ Subscription Price for All iPhones

Tuesday February 4, 2025 9:35 am PST by
Apple this week increased the prices for its monthly AppleCare+ subscription prices for the iPhone, raising the cost by 50 cents for all models in the United States. Standard AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 models is now priced at $10.49 per month, for example, up from the prior $9.99 per month price. The 50 cent price increase applies to all available AppleCare+ plans for Apple's current...
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Thursday February 6, 2025 7:31 am PST by
Apple is internally testing iOS 18.3.1 for iPhones, according to our website's analytics logs, which have been a consistently reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released within the next few weeks. iOS 18.3.1 should be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Apple Intelligence notification summaries for news and...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive an All-New Perk

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:21 am PST by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. iCloud+ is the official name for Apple's paid iCloud storage plans, which range from 50GB for $0.99 per month to 12TB for $59.99 per month in the United States. iCloud+ plans already come with multiple perks for free, such as Hide My Email and HomeKit Secure Video, and now there is another one...

Top Rated Comments

tomnavratil Avatar
33 months ago
It's always funny how some companies complain about Apple's review process when you later find out that they've been contacted by Apple multiple times about violating App Store Guidelines with things like improper use of APIs, data collection, incorrect metadata or privacy labels and so on.

Over the past 7 years, I've published probably 25+ apps to App Store for a variety of clients (startups, SMEs and even Fortune 500 companies) and every time we got rejected in review it was due to our fault - either in the listing or a bug that got missed in internal QA. And I have to say, even with L1 support, they've been fairly on point to outlining what's wrong and how to fix it. I know this is just one experience but I highly doubt that they have an app in review for 2 weeks if they've done everything correctly.
Score: 61 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BootsWalking Avatar
33 months ago
Apple is reviewing the revolutionary Telegram features to determine which they'd like to poach for iMessage.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JCCL Avatar
33 months ago

Personally, I'd be happy if Telegram were removed from a. App Stores.
Yeah - I don't like an App, so no one shall have it! Weird attitude being happy and wishing that something others enjoy is taken away from them, even if you don't enjoy it yourself. I would never download Tik Tok on my phone, but others seem to enjoy for reasons I will never understand, so why would I want that taken away? I just ignore it.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
autrefois Avatar
33 months ago

Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, is lashing out against Apple over the company's "obscure" App Store review process that is delaying Telegram from releasing an update to its app that will "revolutionize how people express themselves in messaging."
Apple is standing in the way of revolution! ?

But on a serious note, I think Apple should generally take *more* time to review apps and not less, considering some of the junk apps that slip through — although this is a well-known app and developer, and I strongly doubt in this case that the review of the app itself is what’s holding things up.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rp100 Avatar
33 months ago
“Apple is delaying the release of our revolutionary new features!”

Translation:
“Marketing and finance agreed that a negative presser about Apple would be the cheapest method to generate interest and new sign-ups.”
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
33 months ago
Telegram CEO needs to wait, get in line and wait for his turn.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)