Telegram
Telegram is an app for messages, calls, group chats and sharing photos, videos and files across your devices. It’s made by Telegram, based in the United Arab Emirates.
Criminals have used its name in fake downloads or scams, so get it only from macos.telegram.org.
What it is
Telegram lets people message each other, make calls and follow groups and channels. There are two official Mac apps: Telegram for macOS and Telegram Desktop, called Telegram Lite in the App Store. Their source code is public.
It can use your microphone and camera for messages and calls, and access files you share or download. Screen sharing needs screen recording permission. Optional location access lets you send your current location.
Ordinary chats are stored on Telegram’s servers and sync between devices. They do not use end-to-end encryption. The native Mac app also supports Secret Chats, which use end-to-end encryption and stay on the devices where they were created.
Who makes it
Telegram runs a messaging service launched in 2013, with its development team based in Dubai. Its legal name is Telegram Messenger Inc.. Its website is telegram.org.
Is it the real one?
Every Mac app carries a signature from the developer who made it. Apple checks who the developer is before handing out the certificate, and macOS refuses to open an app whose signature has been tampered with.
The real Telegram is signed by Telegram, Apple team ID 6N38VWS5BX, or by the App Store for copies installed from there. A copy signed by anyone else isn’t from Telegram. HARD’s Mac app checks this for you; to check by hand, open Terminal and run codesign -dv "/Applications/Telegram.app", and look for that TeamIdentifier.
Its bundle ID, the name macOS knows it by, is ru.keepcoder.Telegram or org.telegram.desktop or com.tdesktop.Telegram. Download it only from macos.telegram.org or the Mac App Store, not from an ad or a link someone sends you.
Fakes. In March 2026, K7 Labs reported a lookalike Telegram download website distributing a malicious Windows installer. This report concerned Windows, not the Mac apps.
What it connects to
In normal use, Telegram talks to these places on the internet. A firewall that asks before apps connect, like the one in HARD’s Mac app, will show them.
| Address | Why |
|---|---|
td.telegram.org | Telegram Desktop update checks. |
What it can see
macOS asks you before an app can use these. You can change them any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
| Permission | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Microphone | Record voice messages and make calls. |
| Camera | Record video messages, make video calls and take a profile photo. |
| Screen Recording | Share your screen during calls. |
| Location Services | Send your current location; the native app also lists automatic night theme settings. |
| Files and Folders | Save chat files and images in your Downloads folder. |
| Speech Recognition | The native app can turn dictated speech into message text. |
| Bluetooth | Telegram Desktop can use a nearby phone to sign in with a passkey. |
Security record
Problems with Telegram or Telegram in the last three years, newest first. Keeping the app up to date covers the ones that were fixed.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A Telegram Desktop flaw let a crafted link upload local files and expose account session keys; it was fixed in version 7.2.9. | ↗ | |
| Malicious content could run scripts when someone opened an exported Telegram Desktop chat in a browser; it was fixed in stable version 7.0.1. | ↗ |
References
- Telegram for macOS — downloads and version history macos.telegram.org
- Telegram Desktop — official downloads desktop.telegram.org
- Telegram FAQ — company, Mac apps and encryption telegram.org
- Telegram Privacy Policy telegram.org
- Telegram for macOS — official source and permissions github.com
- Telegram for macOS — bundle identifiers raw.githubusercontent.com
- Telegram Desktop — Mac bundle identifiers raw.githubusercontent.com
- Telegram for macOS — permission descriptions raw.githubusercontent.com
- Telegram Desktop — permission descriptions raw.githubusercontent.com
- Telegram translations — screen sharing permission translations.telegram.org
- Telegram for macOS — in-app updater raw.githubusercontent.com
- Telegram Desktop — update checker raw.githubusercontent.com
- Telegram Desktop — update server address raw.githubusercontent.com
- K7 Labs — fake Telegram download campaign labs.k7computing.com
- BeakSec — Telegram Desktop account takeover flaw beaksec.github.io
- ExPatch — Telegram Desktop chat export flaw expatch.com
- The signature on a real installed copy, read by HARD with
codesign.