Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram, warned that push notification systems pose a persistent and serious privacy risk, enabling data recovery even after messages and messaging apps that store notification data are deleted from a device.
Durov pointed to a 404 Media report that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation reportedly recovered deleted Signal messages by accessing an iPhone’s notification database. He said users are not safe simply by disabling notification previews, since message content may still be exposed if the people they message have notifications enabled.
Cointelegraph contacted Signal about the FBI report but had not received a response by publication.
The incident underscores how investigators or technically skilled actors can bypass end-to-end encryption by exploiting metadata and auxiliary data generated by apps, such as notification logs. Durov argued this risk reinforces the need for decentralized messaging platforms that minimize or eliminate the collection and storage of such data.
Decentralized messaging and social platforms have seen rising interest since 2025 amid geopolitical tensions, blackouts and civil unrest. Some peer-to-peer apps, like Bitchat, use Bluetooth mesh networking to relay messages without relying on the internet or centralized servers. During a national social media ban in Nepal in September 2025, more than 48,000 people downloaded Bitchat to communicate.
Users also rely on VPNs and other tools to evade national firewalls and bans on privacy-preserving apps. Durov noted that government attempts to force adoption of surveillance-capable messaging have often backfired, driving broader VPN use and continued uptake of banned platforms. He cited Telegram’s persistent popularity in Iran, where he says over 50 million users have downloaded the app despite long-standing restrictions.
These developments highlight tensions between encrypted messaging, auxiliary data generation (like notification logs), and the approaches users and developers take to protect privacy in hostile or censored environments.