Iran Telegram Ban: Why Millions Are Using VPNs to Access the App in 2026

TLDR

• Iran banned Telegram years ago, but tens of millions still access it via VPNs
• Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov says 50 million Iranians and 50 million Russians now use VPNs to access the app
• Iran imposed a nationwide internet blackout in January 2026 during ongoing conflict with Israel and the US
• Residents are also using Starlink and BitChat, a Bluetooth mesh messaging app, to stay connected
• BitChat saw 48,000 downloads in Nepal during a 2025 social media ban, after which the government was toppled

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Iran banned Telegram years ago. It did not work.

That is the message from Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov, who said on Friday that tens of millions of Iranians are still using the app by routing their traffic through virtual private networks, known as VPNs.

VPNs work by sending internet traffic through servers in other countries. This hides a user’s real location and lets them bypass national internet blocks.

Durov said the Iranian government had hoped its ban would push people toward state-approved messaging apps, ones the government can monitor. Instead, it pushed people toward privacy tools.

He put the number of VPN users in Iran at around 50 million. In Russia, he said the same tools are being used by more than 50 million people.

Iran’s Internet Blackout

Iran’s situation has become more extreme since January 2026, when the government imposed a nationwide internet blackout. The blackout is connected to the ongoing conflict involving Israel, the United States, and Iran, and it remains in effect.

Despite the blackout, some residents are still getting online. One method is Starlink, the satellite internet service from SpaceX. Iran has banned Starlink too, but people are still using it.

Another tool is BitChat, an app that does not use the internet at all. It creates a mesh network using Bluetooth signals between nearby devices. Each phone acts as a relay, passing messages along to other phones running the app within range.

This means BitChat can work even when both the internet and satellite connections are blocked.

BitChat’s Growing Role in Protests

BitChat has come up before in situations where governments have shut down the internet.

In September 2025, Nepal banned social media during a period of protests. That week, BitChat was downloaded over 48,000 times in Nepal. The government of Nepal was removed from power by protesters that same month.

A similar spike in BitChat downloads was recorded in Madagascar during protests around the same time.

Durov framed the broader trend as a form of digital resistance, referencing what he called “50 million members of the digital resistance in Iran.”

The Iranian government’s internet blackout, which began in January 2026, is still ongoing as of the time of Durov’s post on Friday.

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