Telegram is still blocked in India after the 22 June deadline, with users reporting outages, the website still unreachable for some people, and the app absent from Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store in the country.
As of 23 June, Telegram had not publicly confirmed any extension of the restriction. That leaves users guessing whether this is a technical lag, a policy holdover, or a longer bureaucratic delay.
Telegram users in India are still seeing outages
Reports posted shortly after midnight on 23 June said the messenger was still unusable for many people. Some users said they could neither send nor receive messages, while others said the official site would not load at all.
- Messages failing to send and receive
- Telegram website not opening for some users
- App still absent from Google Play Store and Apple App Store in India
- Message editing also expected to remain unavailable until 30 June
Why the Telegram block was imposed
The temporary restriction was tied to allegations of exam cheating around NEET-UG, and a New Delhi court last week rejected Telegram’s appeal against the measure. Regulators say they are targeting abuse, while Telegram argues that punishing the platform does little to stop the bad actors who simply move elsewhere.
The deadline mattered because the block was supposed to end on 22 June. Instead, users are still waiting for a clean restoration, and the uncertainty has already pushed some of them toward workarounds.
VPN downloads jump as users look for workarounds
That search for a workaround is showing up in the numbers. India recorded 919,000 VPN downloads in a single day after the Telegram restrictions were introduced, a record since the beginning of 2025. When a block drives that kind of spike, it usually means users are not patiently waiting for official clarity; they are voting with their thumbs.
The bigger question now is whether Telegram quietly stays partially restricted or gets restored all at once. Given how often platform blocks linger beyond their headline expiry date, a little skepticism is probably the safest default.