Understanding and addressing content piracy on Telegram
Telegram, a platform with nearly 1 billion monthly users and growing, has been making headlines this year. From the EU’s push to classify it as a very large online platform under the DSA to Pavel Durov facing investigations over the lack of cooperation with authorities, the spotlight is on.
Originally created as a secure messaging app, Telegram has since expanded into a versatile platform that supports large groups, public and private channels, livestreams, file sharing, and more.
However, alongside its rise has come the challenge of content protection, as some users exploit Telegram’s features to distribute copyrighted material without permission. Discover how people use a complex system of channels, groups, and bots to distribute infringements and how to use Telegram copyright detection to scan the platform for illegal copies of your content.
What is Telegram
Launched in 2013, Telegram is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing online platforms, with nearly 1 billion monthly active users.
Originally a messenger app focused on high-level encryption, Telegram has evolved into much more. It now allows users to:
- Exchange messages, share media and files
- Hold private and public livestreams
- Create public groups with up to 200,000 members
- Share content with unlimited audiences via channels
- Make audio and video calls, publish stories, and more
For a platform of this scale, the real challenge is monitoring content effectively. Telegram’s moderation, largely powered by AI and automated detection systems, relies heavily on volunteers. This approach leads to a lack of proactive measures in preventing the distribution of illegal copyrighted material.
On December 12th, 2024, Pavel Durov revealed new details about moderation activities on Telegram. He announced that each month, the moderation team removes 1 million channels and groups, along with 10 million users, for violating the platform’s Terms of Service. To make their efforts in combating criminal content more transparent, the Telegram team launched a dedicated webpage on content moderation. According to the page, a total of 15,432,776 groups and channels have been blocked in 2024.
Video content on Telegram
Telegram supports a variety of video formats such as MP4, MKV, AVI, and MOV. Users can upload videos up to 2 GB, while users with a premium subscription can upload files up to 4 GB. This feature is complemented by optional video compression, which speeds up uploads and downloads while allowing users to opt out and maintain original video quality.
The ability to upload videos is often misused for unauthorized distribution of copyrighted video content. These features require careful management to mitigate potential misuse within the platform.
Сopyright infringements on Telegram
To distribute illegal content on Telegram, people use channels, groups, bots, and combinations of these tools.
Public channels
One of the simplest ways to distribute illegal content on Telegram is through public channels. Designed for one-way communication, channels allow users to broadcast messages and media to large audiences.
Public channels are open to anyone and frequently share pirated content, ranging from movies to TV shows, drawing in large audiences. Even without subscribing, users can view and consume content from these channels.
These channels are often well-organized, featuring pinned content libraries, hashtags, and built-in search functions for easy navigation.
Here’s an example of public channels distributing pirated content:
For those distributing illegal content, public channels pose a significant risk. Since they are visible to all Telegram users, these channels are easier to detect, report, and shut down. To mitigate this risk, many opt to create private channels instead.
Private channels
Private channels are limited to invited members and operate under the radar. With these channels, users can share pirated content more discreetly and evade detection by authorities or automated systems.
Here’s an example of a private channel distributing pirated content:
Private channels on Telegram typically require an admin to invite new members, as they aren’t open to the public. Admins can manually add members by sharing an invitation link, or they can streamline the process using a specialized bot. Using a bot, admins can maintain their anonymity and avoid potential legal outcomes.
Bots
Bots are applications that run entirely within the Telegram app. Users interact with bots through flexible interfaces that can support different tasks or services.
Telegram bots give access to video content, including pirated materials. Some bots serve merely as tools, helping users join private channels or navigate free content. Others function as intricate catalogs, organizing and providing access to a wide array of pirated media.
In order to use bots, users may need to pay or subscribe to a list of affiliate channels.
Bots connected to private channels
Function: These bots help users gain access to private channels or groups that distribute pirated content.
Mechanism: They often require users to join partner channels or perform specific actions (like sharing links or inviting other users) as a form of payment or qualification for access.
Purpose: The bot automates the process of verifying that users have complied with the requirements before granting access to the desired content.
Bots with catalogs
Function: These bots act as searchable databases for pirated content.
Features: Users can input search queries, and the bot responds with videos to stream pirated media such as movies and TV shows.
User Interface: Typically, these bots offer a menu-based system or accept commands that let users browse categories or directly search for specific titles.
Here is an example of a bot with a catalog. Using this bot, people can select quality, language, subtitles, and other settings before watching the video right in Telegram.
Groups
Telegram also features Groups, group chats that can accommodate up to 200,000 members, making them suitable for communities of any size to communicate. As you might expect, groups are also used for the distribution of illegal content.
However, this method is less popular because it is significantly more challenging to create clear navigation within Groups, where all messages and media are mixed together in the same space.
Yet sometimes groups are made only for illegal distribution of the content. You can see an example below. The group has subthreads for ongoing anime titles with available full-length episodes:
Combination
To remain under the radar while still attracting followers, admins of illegal channels and bots often combine various Telegram tools.
For example, the distribution chain can look like this:
1. Public Channel: This channel features movie announcements, news, memes, and other relevant content, but does not share any full-length copies. Some posts in the public channel promote a bot.
2. Bot: Connected to the public channel, the bot can serve as a comprehensive catalog of videos or act as a bridge to a private channel that contains all the available videos.
By using this approach, administrators take advantage of the exposure and searchability of public channels while ensuring the security offered by bots and private channels.
Now that we understand the potential methods of content distribution, let’s address another important question: How do people find it?
How users access pirated content
The methods users employ to find and consume illegal videos on Telegram can be categorized into two groups: internal and external.
Internal ways
The internal tools for users to find illegal content on Telegram include:
Telegram Search
The built-in search feature allows users to search for public groups and channels using keywords. This helps locate content related to specific interests. For example, users might enter the latest movie or TV show titles, or general terms like “watch movies.”
Telegram Ads
Users may encounter ads promoting channels, groups, or bots that offer illegal content. These ads often appear in public channels related to movies, entertainment, or news.
External ways
Telegram’s built-in search functionality doesn’t always effectively surface all available content, prompting users to seek alternative methods. As a result, many turn to third-party tools and websites that offer more comprehensive search options for Telegram channels and groups.
Telegram Depositories:
Tools like TGstat provide searchable databases of Telegram groups and channels. Users can browse by categories such as “Video & Films” or use specific keywords to find groups that align with their interests.
Search engines
Users can use search engines like Google to find specific Telegram groups by entering relevant keywords associated with their interests or specific group names. Search engines may index public Telegram group links if they are shared on accessible web pages, making them searchable directly through a search query.
Social media platforms
Telegram group links are shared across various social media platforms including X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Reddit, Quora, and YouTube. These platforms host communities and discussions about ways to consume copyrighted content for free so the links to Telegram groups can be found there.
Reddit:
YouTube:
Telegram copyright policy
Telegram’s FAQ explains that the platform reviews reports about illegal content shared through sticker sets, bots, public channels, and groups. However, private channels and groups are off-limits, as they’re considered private among the participants.
After receiving a notice about infringement, Telegram’s team perform necessary legal checks and takes the content down if the infringement is confirmed.
Takedown notices can be submitted only by copyright owners or their authorized agents.
Check Telegram for illegal copies of your content with Telegram Scan
Telegram Scan is a video search engine created by WebKyte. Telegram Scan is based on a proprietary video fingerprinting technology that enables rapid identification of all copies of a video file on selected platforms regardless of the audio, metadata, quality, and distortions.
Telegram Scan detects copies of a video based on a digital video fingerprint. The principle of automatic video identification is similar to that of YouTube Content ID. The entire technology behind the tool is proprietary and is developed by WebKyte engineers.
How to check Telegram for illegal copies of your content with the Telegram Scan:
1. Upload video fingerprints of your titles without sharing any files with us
2. Run the search
3. Get the list of detected copies with clickable links, number of impressions, date of upload, and other data
With WebScan, you can check any number of titles for illegal copies on Telegram and other online platforms.
When infringing content is detected, the next step is to get it removed through takedown notices. While volunteer teams of Telegram handle notices, processing can take weeks. WebKyte team excels at quick suspending unauthorized channels and content on Telegram, protecting your copyrighted material from illegal distribution.
Summary
Piracy of video content on Telegram, including movies and TV shows, poses an increasing challenge for rights holders. An intricate network of channels, bots, and groups makes the distribution of illegal content harder to detect at scale, undermining official streaming services and causing significant financial losses to the entertainment industry.
With Telegram Scan, rightsholders can keep Telegram free of their content by automatically detecting unauthorized copies.