Telegram founder criticizes Apple for holding back update – update

Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram chat service, has criticized the time it takes for Apple to approve updates to the Telegram app. According to the company’s Russian-French CEO, “tech monopolies are imposing obscure approval processes on mobile apps.”

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov

According to Durov The already released update to Telegram, which it claims would be revolutionary for how people can express themselves on the app, has been under review at Apple for two weeks. The App Store operator would only have given a reason for the ‘blockade’ after extensive media attention.

He applies the slow approval process of companies like Apple and Google not only to Telegram, but also to small developers: “If Telegram, one of the ten most popular apps in the world, is treated this way, one can only imagine what that would be like for smaller developers.” Durov argues that not being able to update apps simply costs money and criticizes Apple and Google for collecting 30 percent commission. “According to them, this [belasting] intended to fund the resources needed to run applications.”

It is not the first time that Durov has publicly lashed out at Apple. In 2018, he claimed that Apple would block an update to the app worldwide after Russia wanted to block Telegram. The messaging service also filed an antitrust complaint with the EU over alleged unfair business practices by Apple’s App Store. Incidentally, Epic Games did the same. Recently, the Fortnite maker waged a massive public and legal battle against Apple over its App Store policy.

Update, 9.40 pm: Meanwhile, the update that was blocked by Apple is live. According to Durov The update was halted because Apple demanded that the new Telemoji feature for high-resolution animated emojis be removed. It’s not clear why this feature was stopped by Apple, but Telemojis have been pulled from the update for now and will eventually be rolled out to Premium users first. Thanks to julian.