Version of 23 October 2026
Privacy Policy
This policy explains what data the Altegram app for Android (as published on Google Play and on this site) and the altegram.com website handle, where that data goes, and how you can control it.
In short. Altegram is an unofficial Telegram client. Your messages, contacts and account data travel directly between your phone and Telegram's servers. We run no servers for them: we do not receive your messages, contacts or phone number, and Altegram adds no analytics, advertising or trackers of its own (Telegram's own sponsored messages appear as Telegram serves them). All we keep are technical logs of the website and downloads, deleted after 14 days.
Who we are and what this covers
The app and the website are published by the developer of Altegram ("we"). For anything about this policy, write to [email protected].
Altegram uses the Telegram API and is part of the Telegram ecosystem, but it is an independent app: Telegram neither publishes nor endorses it. Your account, your chats and everything in them are stored by Telegram, which is responsible for that data on its own, under its Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
What Telegram receives
To work, Altegram sends Telegram the same things any Telegram app does:
- your phone number and the confirmation code when you sign in;
- the messages, photos, videos, voice messages, files and calls you send;
- your address book, if you turn on contact sync;
- your location, if you choose to share it;
- your device model, Android and app versions and language, which Telegram shows you in the list of active sessions;
- views of and taps on Telegram's sponsored messages, as in any Telegram app;
- a notification token (see Google services below).
This data goes straight to Telegram over its encryption protocol and never reaches us. Google Play counts such data as "collected by the app", so it is listed in the Data safety section of the app's store page even though we do not hold it.
Telegram's sponsored messages appear in Altegram as Telegram serves them: in bots, the video player and search. Telegram chooses them under its own rules; Altegram does not add advertising of its own.
What we receive
From the app: nothing. Altegram has no analytics, no crash reporting, no advertising identifiers and no servers of ours for messages.
What we do have:
| What | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Logs of altegram.com and of api.altegram.com, the server the APK is downloaded from: IP address, time, requested address, browser | To keep the site and downloads working and protected from attacks (our legitimate interest) | 14 days, then deleted |
| Emails you send to [email protected] | To answer you (performing your request) | As long as needed to answer |
The website uses no cookies, analytics or third-party scripts; its fonts are served from our own server. The site and the download server are delivered through Cloudflare, which processes these requests on our behalf.
The APK is downloaded from https://api.altegram.com/dl/altegram.apk on our server. When Yandex Disk holds the same build, that address redirects you there and Yandex serves the file: Yandex then sees your IP address and request like any website, under its own privacy policy. Otherwise the file comes from our server. If you install Altegram from Google Play, Google delivers the app and its updates under its own policies; from Google Play we see only what it shows every developer: summary statistics such as installs and crashes, and the reviews you choose to post.
We do not use your data or Telegram data to train artificial intelligence models. Message translation in the app is done by Telegram; the phone only detects the language of a text, and the text does not leave the phone for that.
What stays on your phone
- Settings, cache and the data of your accounts (up to 100), as in any Telegram app.
- Cache periods. The cache is cleared after the period you set for each type of chat: by default 1 month for private chats and 2 weeks for groups, with a total limit of 5 GB. Any period from a day to a year can be chosen in the storage settings.
All of this is removed when you uninstall the app or clear its data.
Permissions
The app asks for a permission when it needs it, and you can revoke it in Android settings:
- Notifications, to tell you about new messages and calls.
- Contacts, to find people you know on Telegram if you turn on sync.
- Camera and microphone, for photos, video, voice messages and calls.
- Photos, videos and files, to send and save media.
- Location, only when you share where you are.
- Phone, so a Telegram call behaves properly when a regular call comes in.
Google services in the app
The app includes Google components that come from Telegram for Android. They work under Google's Privacy Policy:
- Firebase Cloud Messaging delivers notifications: the app gets a device token from Google and passes it to Telegram.
- Google Play Integrity and SafetyNet help Telegram confirm at sign-in that the code was requested by a real device.
- Google Maps and location services, when you open a map or share your location.
- ML Kit, on the phone itself, detects the language of a message, cuts an object out of a photo for a sticker and recognises what is in pictures. Images and text do not leave the phone for that.
- Google Play Billing is in the code, as in Telegram for Android, but Altegram makes no purchases through it: Telegram Premium, Telegram Stars and Premium gifts cannot be bought in the app.
- Google Pay, if you pay a bot or a seller for goods or services through Telegram Payments. Google and the payment provider process the payment; the deal is between you, Telegram and the seller.
- Google Assistant: if you send a message by voice command, the app tells the Assistant the action is done.
- Google Cast and Wear OS, when you cast a video to a screen or get notifications on a watch.
Sharing
We do not sell data or pass it to advertisers. Data from the app reaches only Telegram and Google, as described above. If the law requires us to disclose data, we can only disclose the little we have: website and download logs and support emails. Telegram, Google, Cloudflare and Yandex run servers in many countries, so data may be transferred outside your country, including outside the EU; these companies use the safeguards the law provides for such transfers.
Security
Data travels between the app and Telegram over Telegram's encryption protocol. Regular chats are stored encrypted in Telegram's cloud; secret chats are end-to-end encrypted and stored only on the participants' devices. The app's data on your phone is protected by the Android sandbox, and you can also turn on Telegram's usual passcode lock for the app.
Your rights
You can ask to access, correct or delete your data, restrict or object to its processing, and complain to the data protection authority in your country.
- Your Telegram account data is held by Telegram: contact it as described in its Privacy Policy, which also names its EU representative.
- For what we hold (website and download logs, emails), write to [email protected]. We answer within 30 days.
Deleting your data and account
App data is removed together with Altegram, or when you clear its data in Android settings.
Your Telegram account and its content are stored by Telegram. Altegram has no account of its own: you sign in with your Telegram account. You can delete it:
- on the web: my.telegram.org/deactivate, Telegram's own page. Sign in with your phone number and confirm;
- from Altegram: Settings → Altegram → "Delete account". The app explains that Altegram has no account of its own and opens the same Telegram page;
- after a period of inactivity: Settings → Privacy and Security → "Delete my account" → "If away for": choose a period, and Telegram deletes the account if you do not sign in during it.
Deleting an account is final: Telegram deletes your messages and contacts, and this cannot be undone. The data we hold, website and download logs, is deleted on its own after 14 days; to delete your support emails, write to [email protected].
Age
Altegram is not meant for children. You may use it from the age of 13, or 18 in the EU, as Telegram's terms require; if your country sets a higher minimum age, that one applies.