Telegram’s MTProto Design Flaw Lets Trackers Bypass VPNs and Proxies

A technical review reveals that Telegram’s MTProto protocol exposes a permanent 64‑bit device identifier (auth_key_id) in clear text, enabling passive observers—including ISPs, mobile carriers, and state surveillance—to track users across app restarts, IP changes, VPNs, and even Tor, rendering secret chats and PFS ineffective.

MTProtoTelegramauth_key_id

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Telegram’s MTProto Design Flaw Lets Trackers Bypass VPNs and Proxies

21CTO

Oct 6, 2015 · Information Security

How Pavel Durov Built Telegram: A Security‑First Messaging Platform

The article chronicles Pavel Durov’s journey from creating Russia’s VK social network to founding Telegram, highlighting his libertarian philosophy, clashes with authorities, and the technical design choices—such as the open‑source MTProto protocol, privacy focus, zero‑ads policy, and high performance—that make Telegram a unique secure messaging service.

MTProtoMessaging SecurityPavel Durov

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