The Iranian government’s attempt to block the Telegram messaging app in the country has backfired as users find ways to bypass the country’s firewalls and online controls, according to Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov.
“Iran banned Telegram many years ago” – Durov he said on Friday; however, he added that tens of millions of users in the country had accessed the app through virtual private networks (VPNs) and other similar tools.
VPNs route network traffic through servers distributed around the world to mask users’ real Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and conceal their locations. This allows people with VPN access to bypass national online restrictions. Durov said:
“The government had hoped for mass adoption of its surveillance messaging apps, but instead what it got was mass adoption of VPNs. Today, the 50 million members of the digital resistance in Iran are joined by more than 50 million more in Russia.”
Decentralized technologies such as blockchain, cryptography and encrypted messaging applications can ease or neutralize state-imposed internet restrictions and surveillance infrastructure, promoting individual freedom, advocates of decentralized technology say.
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Users are turning to decentralized alternatives when faced with internet disruptions
The government of Iran imposed a nationwide internet blackout in January 2026 amid growing protests and civil unrest, which remains in effect due to the ongoing war between Israel, the United States and Iran.
Residents of the country can still access the Internet via Starlink, a satellite network, despite the government’s ban, or communicate via BitChat, a messaging app that uses Bluetooth radio waves to create a mesh network between devices.
BitChat’s mesh network transforms each device into a relay node that transmits data to other devices with the application within range, completely bypassing internet and satellite systems.
The government of Nepal imposed a social media ban in September 2025 amid growing protests, which resulted in a surge in BitChat downloads.
During the week of the social media ban, Bitchat was downloaded over 48,000 times in Nepal, and in the same month, protesters overthrew the Nepalese government.
The app saw a similar boost in downloads in Madagascar during the protests, which also occurred around the same time as the political revolution in Nepal.
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