On Friday 14 February 2025, an investigation by The Guardian revealed that an underground network of men are using apps like Telegram to share and trade explicit images of local women. While extremely shocking, the news shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has been keeping tabs on the scandal-ridden messaging service. Only in December 2024, it was uncovered that the app also hosted chat groups in which men could share advice on how to rape and sexually assault women.

This positions the app, which has become notorious for facilitating cybercrime activities, as one of the biggest present threats to women’s safety.

Telegram is a cloud-based instant messaging service, similar to WhatsApp, with the difference that Telegram allows users to operate anonymously, through secret chats, as well as giving individuals the ability to hide their phone numbers. It has garnered a bad reputation for frequently refusing to cooperate with authorities and thus becoming a breeding ground for cybercrime activities such as malware distribution, hacktivism and selling stolen credentials.

In August 2024, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested for allegedly enabling illegal activities on the messaging platform, ranging from drug trafficking and money laundering to the possession of child pornography.

The company has since vowed to tackle its issues head-on by policing more user-generated content (UGC), responding to calls for more content moderation and security checks.

Still, recent news shows that real change remains elusive for now.

‘Are we dating the same girl?’ is an infamous chat on the platform that has become notorious for leaking non-consensual intimate images of women and young girls.

“Your sister, your mum, even probably you were in that group chat,” one TikTok user shared, as reported by Glamour. “Some girls were getting repeatedly [posted] in there—it was mad.”

“Are we dating the same guy” was a group set up by women to help protect each other from cheaters & abusers.

London men set up the “Are we dating the same girl” Telegram group chat to share revenge porn and lies about girls, including minors. Can’t wait for the jail sentences✌️

— hannah (@antifamouss) January 27, 2025

The group reportedly contains tens of thousands of members. Some of images being shared on there are of girls as young as 13.

“It’s clear that these men were revelling in destroying the lives and reputation of women,” Hannah, a young woman who found this chat, told Glamour.

Most disturbingly, however, some users on similar chats with up to 70,000 members post pictures and explicit videos of sexual assaults.

Many anonymous participants confess to having assaulted women in their household, including wives, partners, sisters and mothers, while others share instructions on how to do the same.

In one disturbing post a German man even shared that he has been sedating his wife and offered her up for sexual services, in a case that is eerily similar to Gisèle Pelicot’s case against her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, The Telegraph reported.

Yet, the horror and degradation that Gisèle Pelicot’s case highlighted seemed to have no impact on these users: instead, they eagerly shared tips on how to sedate their partners, including links to online shops where abusers could buy sedatives disguised as hair products. It is men relishing in their power to abuse women.

When contacted, Telegram insisted that it take action against such groups. It said in a statement: “Telegram has a zero-tolerance policy towards misuse of its platform. All users caught doing so will be blocked immediately.”

However, given the platform’s spotty history in addressing illegal activity, many campaigners are sceptical of whether these groups will actually be dismantled and reported to relevant government agencies.

“Men and young boys were having disgusting conversations about women and their bodies. There were girls’ social media pictures with semen edited over their faces. The messages were cruel and foul—it was like it was a big joke, them laughing and complimenting each other. Some messages were disturbing, talking about sexual assault and rape. [The messages] were coming a mile a minute and being deleted almost as fast,” another young woman who discovered these chats shared with Glamour.

This is a pivotal moment where women face escalating threats to their safety, as abusers increasingly exploit platforms like Telegram to organise and perpetrate abuse. It is essential for the government to take action against Telegram, ensuring it complies with regulations and subjects itself to regular safety checks and inquiries. Allowing it to operate unchecked in the shadows only fosters an environment where the abuse of women can thrive.