Telegram has added a feature that allows paid users to bypass the ban in Russia
In Russia, users have reported for the first time that the Telegram messaging app is partially circumventing Roskomnadzor’s restrictions. On the night of April 15–16, the service became accessible again without the need for additional tools for a portion of its user base.
This was reported by the specialized project “Durov’s Code.”
According to sources, Telegram has begun testing a new traffic obfuscation mechanism for paid users. This technology allows the appearance of an internet connection to be altered, making it harder for blocking systems to identify.
Users have noticed that the account’s connection country changes in the settings, and active sessions may appear, for example, as connected from the United States.
Additionally, network traffic takes on an atypical, masked appearance.
Currently, the feature is available only to users with a paid Telegram Premium subscription on devices running the Android operating system.
Specifically, all messenger features work without a proxy or virtual private networks.
The new feature is available on the latest versions of the app
However, this feature is not yet available on iOS devices or computers.
Testing of the new technology may indicate an attempt by Telegram to ensure stable service operation amid tightening restrictions in Russia without the need to use third-party tools to bypass blocks.
As a reminder, in Russia, the popularity of Asian messaging apps has surged following restrictions on access to Telegram.
It is worth noting that the Russian State Duma has complained about communication issues due to the blocking of Telegram.
Amid attempts to block hostile information resources in Russia, a massive service outage occurred again on April 6, affecting state services in particular.
A similar outage occurred in Russia on April 3; telecom experts directly linked it to the operation of equipment designed to block unwanted resources. Founder Pavel Durov stated that the Russian authorities’ attempts to restrict VPN operations led to a large-scale failure in the national payment system.
