The short answer
- 1Telegram is run by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai, according to its own FAQ.
- 2The FAQ says the development team is based in Dubai.
- 3Questions go to Ask a Question in Settings, answered by volunteers.
In this article
Telegram at a glance
| Question | What Telegram's own FAQ says |
|---|---|
| Who is behind it | Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai Durov |
| When it started | The iPhone app launched on August 14, 2013; the Android alpha followed on October 20, 2013 |
| Where the team works | The development team is based in Dubai |
| How it pays its bills | Sponsored messages in some public channels, and the paid Telegram Premium subscription |
| Where to ask for help | Ask a Question inside the app, answered by volunteers |
Everything on this page comes from Telegram's own FAQ, Privacy Policy and app screens. Where a claim about Telegram does not appear there, it is left out.
Who made it
The FAQ says Telegram is supported by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai, and splits their roles plainly:
- Pavel supports Telegram financially and ideologically. He is the founder and CEO, and the FAQ notes that he financed Telegram for most of its history.
- Nikolai's part is technological. He designed MTProto, the custom data protocol Telegram runs on, built to be open, secure and to work across several data centres.
The apps and the protocol are open. Anyone can read the source code of the official apps, and Telegram publishes a way to check that an app from the store was built from that code.
Where it is run
The FAQ's answer is one line: the Telegram development team is based in Dubai. Most of the original developers came from St. Petersburg. According to the FAQ, the team left Russia because of local IT regulations and tried several bases, including Berlin, London and Singapore, before settling in Dubai, and it says it is ready to move again if local rules change.
The company names you meet when installing Telegram are its own legal entities. These are worth recognising, because a fake app cannot use them honestly.
| Where you see it | Name shown |
|---|---|
| Digital signature on the Windows installer | Telegram FZ-LLC |
| Microsoft Store, Telegram Desktop | Telegram Messenger LLP |
| Privacy Policy, parent company | Telegram Group Inc., in the British Virgin Islands |
Checking that a Telegram installer is genuine shows how to read that signature.
How to contact Telegram
To ask Telegram something, use Ask a Question inside the app. It sits in the Help group at the bottom of Settings, together with Telegram FAQ, Telegram Features and Privacy Policy.
- Main menu (☰)
- Settings
- Ask a Question
- Settings tab
- Ask a Question
- Bottom Settings tab
- Ask a Question
- Ask a Question — Telegram's own support, answered by volunteers
- Telegram FAQ — try this first
- Privacy Policy
- Your app version — include it when you ask
Tapping it first shows a note: "Telegram Support is done by volunteers. We try to respond as quickly as possible, but it may take a while." Ask a volunteer then opens the support chat. Because the answer can take time, check the Telegram FAQ first; many questions are already answered there.
- Support is done by volunteers, so answers can take a while
- Ask a volunteer — opens the support chat
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Write your question in one message, say which device and app version you use (the version is printed right under the Help group), and describe what you tried. A clear first message gets a useful answer faster than a string of short ones.
"Telegram Support" contacting you first is a scam
Official Telegram accounts carry a blue verified badge, and the account that sends you login codes is the one named Telegram with that badge. If someone is pretending to be you, the FAQ says to contact @NoToScam. Illegal content can be flagged with the Report button in any chat, or reported to abuse@telegram.org with a link to the content.
More about how Telegram works
- How Telegram makes money, and where ads appear.
- Telegram's stance on your data: deletion, data requests and law enforcement.
- Telegram vs WhatsApp: the differences that matter day to day.
FAQ
Is there a Telegram customer service phone number?
The FAQ lists none. Support is Ask a Question in the app, answered by volunteers. Anyone calling you as Telegram Support is not Telegram.
Where are Telegram's servers?
The FAQ says cloud chat data is kept in several data centres around the world, run by different legal entities in different jurisdictions.
Someone is pretending to be me. Who do I tell?
The FAQ says to contact @NoToScam. You can also use Report on the fake account.
Sources
At a glance
- 1Pavel and Nikolai Durov
Pavel funds and leads it; Nikolai designed the MTProto protocol.
- 2Team based in Dubai
Installer signer: Telegram FZ-LLC. Parent: Telegram Group Inc.
- 3Ask a Question
Settings › Help › Ask a Question. Volunteers answer it.
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