Telegram app blocked in Vietnam as of 24-May-2025
Vietnam has been threatening to do this for weeks and I guess they finally got around to it because today when I was popping out a few messages to friends I noticed the little spinning wheel of "sending" was not going away to be replaced by a checkmark that indicates the message was sent. So for a lot of people, this means that Telegram is now unusable but of course there are ways around this block if you are slightly technology savvy and it isn't that difficult.
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I really like Telegram and will continue to use it for things that I need to remain private and it is that level of privacy that is the reason why Vietnam has moved to block it in the first place.
Vietnamese authorities claim that nearly 70% of all group messages on Telegram is for illegal purposes such as drug trafficking, terrorism, and prostitution. I have no idea how they would come up with such a statistic and it sounds made up to me. I do know that when I go walking around there are advertisements of sorts for what is clearly a weed distribution ring that are spray painted on curbs and abandoned buildings.
To me this seems like it would be pretty easy to bust the people involved if you wanted to, just pose as a customer and then get the delivery driver when the arrive...
I never used Telegram for this sort of thing but I like that it can be used for that. Privacy is very important to me and if you are not, you should be. The government in almost all countries is probably spying on you and having the attitude of "I'm not doing anything wrong so I have nothing to worry about" is not a good one to have. One day the government might just decide that something that wasn't illegal now is and you might already be on a list somewhere. For me, I would rather them just not have that information about me to begin with and Telegram, at least from what I can tell, is pretty good about doing this. Telegram claims that even with a government order, they cannot give customer information about their users away.
Again, I have no idea if this is true but it is the basis for Vietnam blocking it in the country, probably hoping to move people towards more "compliant" messaging services like Whatsapp or the god-awful Zalo app that I've been told is run by the government.
You can still use Telegram with a VPN
This will never change unless the entire world decided to have a system similar to China where they have a single point of entry as far as their network is concerned and even then, all countries would need to be constantly updating the blocked addresses because VPN's are constantly changing and are very difficult to block. I am no expert on this but I know people that live in China and they are able to access a lot of things that the government blocks, it's just complicated and most of the population doesn't feel like dealing with the additional work and just complies.
So if you want to access Telegram in Vietnam you will have to do so with a VPN. Thus far I have used NordVPN on a free trial and also ProtonVPN, which I highly recommend because it is cheap and comes with a suite of other things that anyone who is privacy-oriented will also need and enjoy. I have been using the Proton Suite for many years but it was a lot cheaper before than it is now. You can have a look at it here if you want.
If this comes across as advertising spam please know that I am not that kind of person. I don't care if you use a VPN at all and I do not work for Proton, I am just a very satisfied customer, honestly :)
I would be willing to bet that this is going to be a difficult time for a lot of people that depend on Telegram for work, especially my Russian friends who seem to be almost 100% dependent on its functionality for not just their jobs, but also keeping in touch with friends and family.
The last time I visited Vietnam I was running everything on QubesOS anyway, so a change like this would have been easy to handle 🙂
I do plan to go back sometime next year to do the Ha Giang Loop, but I won't be bothering too much with privacy while there. The problem is truly the West for many who made it out of there, and that won't get better...
For us who roam around in the region things will be fine, as long as we behave well, pay or way and in general are open about things. The awareness about the processes behind the changes in the West should be growing, so there will be more understanding and maybe even tiny bits of sympathy .
That, of course, depend 100% on how an individual behaves on the ground!
I'd not heard of this until now... I'm watching a video now. Seems pretty hardcore dude!
Yeah, it sure is!
If I had remained in Europe I would not do anything without it, but since I realized early on how things would play out the need is less urgent.
Outside of the West its a saner, and now even more free world!
Also I do not want, nor need any longer, to hide anything. I'll return maybe once a year, that is all.
As a thought criminal I'll just enter with wiped devices, like people used to do with China haha!
Didn't take long for everything to change radically, once it all got going...
I think it is important to preserve your online privacy. I don't necessarily do anything online that would get me in trouble, but that's the thing, sometimes we don't even know what is considered ok and what isn't... I look at people being arrested in the UK for having an opinion that is contrary to the government and I think that those people put their entire real information on the internet and now the coppers know where to find them. A little bit of privacy and security could have prevented all of that.
Hehe, I've been so deep into hardcore privacy that I probably can't go into details in public!
But things have changed, its time to get on the offensive, and for me that is sort of doable.
These things are highly individual, the calculation might have been different if I was from the UK.
Lived in London from 2001-2004, I'd love to see it again, but I guess now I won't haha!
We'll do better outside of Europe I bet :-)
That happen o almoust happen here in venezuela. Keep it Strong bro ✊🏻⚡⚡
Venezeula banned Telegram too?
I have never used telegram and kind of stay away from using social media altogether. If you want me you phone me or I phone you and it works.
as I am sure you know, it isn't social media. It is a messaging app with good security. It's quite popular with the Russians here and I use it just as a backup for my other messaging apps.
Thanks for the update and the clear explanation of what's happening in Vietnam. It's a classic move by authorities, but as you rightly point out, the internet always finds a way. Hope the workarounds continue to be effective for everyone who needs them in Vietnam.
Have a great day and take care.
anyone with a VPN is unaffected by this. But the thing is, banking apps in Vietnam will not work if one is using a VPN and it seems like everyone pays for things digitally these days. There are workarounds for this as well, but it is well beyond the understanding of mobiles for most people.
Thank you for sharing the challenge of telegram in Vietnam, but in Cambodia there is good processing. Have a good day ❤️❤️❤️
it's just a Vietnam thing at the moment as far as I know. I also think that it is going to be a lot more complicated than they think to actually block it. It's not like blocking a URL.... that is easy.
⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
⋆ ᴅᴇʟᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋs 25 ʜᴘ⇾50 ʜᴘ⇾100 ʜᴘ⇾500 ʜᴘ⇾1,000 ʜᴘ
yeah, it's not a good new for many people here in Viet Nam. Do you recommend another app to use instead?
I've been using Telegram to communicate with my colleagues at work and it's nice to use. Sorry to hear that it's been blocked in your country. I am sure a lot will find this helpful especially those who use it in your country. There's always a workaround. They can use it with a VPN, and that's good.