Telegram’s “people nearby” feature, which was hugely popular with drug dealers and the like, has shuffled off this mortal coil. It’s being replaced by a “businesses nearby” feature, listing only what CEO Pavel Durov calls “legitimate, verified businesses.”
On Friday, Durov also announced the disabling of new media uploads to Telegram’s blogging tool, Telegraph. He said it “seems to have been misused by anonymous actors.” Crucially, he also indicated that the platform’s legendarily light-touch approach to content moderation would change, pledging: “This year we are committed to turn moderation on Telegram from an area of criticism into one of praise.”
