Newly filed court records provide a concrete example of Telegram sharing account information with US investigators, including a user’s phone number, account ID, and IP address.
As first reported by 404 Media, a related government filing says Telegram supplied the information following a court order issued under the Stored Communications Act.
The two-page Telegram letter, dated September 4, 2026, was filed as Exhibit B in a federal criminal case in the Western District of Louisiana on October 15. It identifies an account under the name Mahmoud Almohtadi and provides an associated phone number, numeric user ID, and a single IP address timestamped October 8, 2025. The document specifies that timestamps are in UTC and represent the account’s last login time.
Telegram, is a communication platform with a claimed one billion users, permits disclosing phone numbers and IP addresses after reviewing valid judicial orders related to suspected criminal activity that violates its terms of service. Its privacy policy says these disclosures are included in quarterly transparency reports.
Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub Al-Muhtadi is accused by U.S. prosecutors of participating in the October 7, 2023 attacks against Israel and obtaining a U.S. visa through false statements.
What the disclosure reveals
Telegram’s letter describes its response as voluntary while reserving several legal positions. The company says providing information does not mean it accepts U.S. jurisdiction, acknowledges proper service, or promises further assistance. It also states that its response should not necessarily be considered complete.
The exhibit contains account and connection information but includes no message content. Its scope therefore does not establish what other information investigators requested or obtained elsewhere.
A separate note explains how Telegram locates user records. A phone number is generally required to retrieve private account information, although a username or numeric Telegram ID can sometimes suffice. Examples include accounts previously subject to moderation or situations where Telegram could enable additional logging after an official disclosure request.
The letter does not state whether Telegram enabled additional logging for this account. It also identifies an email address Telegram describes as its non-public contact point for U.S. authorities, now exposed through the court filing.
Broader cooperation
CyberInsider previously reported that Telegram fulfilled 900 U.S. law enforcement requests affecting 2,253 users during 2024. Through September that year, the corresponding figures were just 14 requests and 108 users. The increase followed CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest in France and Telegram’s September 2024 policy change.
The new exhibit illustrates what an individual disclosure can contain. For privacy-conscious users, it also highlights the distinction between protecting conversations and protecting identifying metadata. Telegram’s ordinary cloud chats lack end-to-end encryption; Secret Chats provide it, but users should not assume that this prevents disclosure of account-level information such as phone numbers and IP addresses.
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