Changes are starting to arrive at Telegram after Pavel Durov’s arrest: the app just lost one of its functions

The first tweaks are starting to arrive at Telegram following the arrest of Pavel Durov last month in France. We recently learned that the messaging app had edited its FAQ, frequently asked questions page, with a ambiguous wording which raises questions about moderation of non-secret chats and groups.

Now, the CEO of the company has promised “turning Telegram moderation from an area of ​​criticism to one of praise.” The aforementioned comments have been accompanied by a series of changes that clearly aim to improve the app’s reputation. We are talking about one feature being removed and another being disabled.

The changes that come with the latest Telegram update

Until today, you could use Telegram to find groups and people near your location. This allowed you to talk to unknown contacts without having to have their phone numberUsing this feature was as simple as clicking on the “People Nearby” option in the drop-down side menu and allowing access to the location.

When we showed our profile, users who were nearby could send us messages. At all times, our phone number remained hidden. Well, that has just changed. The latest Telegram update has completely removed this feature, so it is no longer available on all platforms.

“People Nearby” disappears in the latest Telegram update

“We have removed the People Nearby feature, which was used by less than 0.1% of Telegram users, but which had problems with users. Bots and scammers”, Durov said on their official channel in the app. The feature has stopped working on the server side, so it is also not available on outdated versions of the app.

A feature called “Businesses Nearby” is expected to arrive later. The promise is that it will show legitimate and verified businesses. In this case, companies will be able to display a catalogue of products and accept payments. However, we will have to wait to see if they are available.

The app tweaks also extend to Telegraph. This is an integrated blogging tool that allowed create posts with images and other types of embedded elements. Simply go to telegra.ph to create a story and then share the link so that other people can see it. Now, however, it will be limited.

Telegraph will no longer allow users to add new media, i.e. images or videos. Durov says they believe this tool is being “misused by anonymous actors.” As noted in The Vege, Quoting BleepingComputerresearchers concluded in 2022 that Telegraph was being used by malicious actors for phishing attacks.

Images | Vectornaut | Screenshots

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