None declared
None declared
On the label it is low-risk: Messenger VPN collects some data but says none of it is linked to you or used for tracking. None of it falls in Apple's most sensitive categories (health, financial, location, contacts or your own content). In total the label lists 2 data types; 14% of secure messengers we checked declare tracking.
Messenger VPN privacy in one look
- 1Collects nothing
- 2Not linked
- 3Linked
- 4Tracks you
Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.
Messenger VPN collects some data but says none of it is linked to your identity, and none is used for tracking.
Did Messenger VPN ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what Messenger VPN's developer declared.
Location is not on Messenger VPN's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
User Content is not on Messenger VPN's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Contacts is not on Messenger VPN's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Messenger VPN declares no tracking, so a tracking prompt would contradict its label. Decline it, and consider reporting the mismatch to Apple.
Health & Fitness is not on Messenger VPN's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.
What Messenger VPN collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| IdentifiersNot linked to you | An account ID, screen name, customer number or a device-level ID such as the advertising identifier. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking: turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track, or tap Ask App Not to Track when prompted. |
| DiagnosticsNot linked to you | Crash logs, launch times, hang rates and energy use. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements › Share With App Developers controls what Apple passes on; the app's own crash reporting is separate. |
What Messenger VPN's label means for you
Messenger VPN's label has 2 types under “Data Not Linked to You”. A data type can appear in more than one section when it is used for different purposes — for example, identifiers used for both analytics and advertising.
Every type on Messenger VPN's label is in the “not linked” section, so the developer says the data is stripped of anything that identifies you before it is used. That is typical of anonymous analytics and crash reporting. Not linked is still collected: the data leaves your phone.
None of the data types fall into the categories most people consider sensitive: health, financial information, precise location, contacts, browsing history or the content you create.
Messengers see who you talk to as well as what you say. Even with end-to-end encrypted content, contact lists and metadata can be collected and linked to you. Check whether contact upload is optional, whether backups are encrypted too, and whether disappearing messages exist.
Among the 172 secure messengers in our snapshot with a label, 14% declare tracking, 54% collect data linked to you and 29% say they collect nothing. Messenger VPN lists 2 data types, about the same as the average of 2.8 for this group.
Social apps are built around identity and contacts, so data linked to you is nearly universal. Tracking and contact upload are the settings worth checking.
Settings to check for Messenger VPN
- 1
Tracking
Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. If “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is off, apps cannot ask, and they are told to treat you as having declined. You can also turn it off for this app alone.
- 2
Contacts
Settings › Privacy & Security › Contacts. Limited Access shares only the people you select instead of your whole address book.
- 3
Microphone & camera
Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone and Camera. The orange and green dots in the status bar show when either is in use.
- 4
Lock the app
On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the icon and choose Require Face ID. Anyone who picks up your unlocked phone then needs your face, fingerprint or passcode to open it.
- 5
Notifications
Settings › Notifications › Messenger VPN › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does Messenger VPN track you?
There is no “Data Used to Track You” section on Messenger VPN's label.
Does Messenger VPN track you? Full answer and how to stop it →
Lock Messenger VPN behind Face ID
- Find Messenger VPN on your Home Screen or in App Library.
- Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
- Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. Messenger VPN now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not Messenger VPN has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
About Messenger VPN
| Developer | VPN LLC US |
| App Store category | Social Networking (also Utilities) |
| Latest version | 4.008, released May 2024 |
| First released | August 2018 |
| Requires | iOS 12.0 or later |
| Size | 420 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ |
| Languages | 21 (AR, BE, CA, DA, NL, EN, FR, DE…) |
| Bundle ID | com.telegramvpn.vpn |
The current version shipped in May 2024, 2 years before our snapshot. Apps that are not updated may not support newer iOS privacy controls, and an abandoned app will not get security fixes.
What the label cannot tell you
- A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what Messenger VPN sends.
- It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
- Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
- Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
- Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.
The question to ask Messenger VPN's developer: Is the message content end-to-end encrypted by default, including backups?
Messenger VPN vs similar secure messengers
- Messenger
- WhatsApp Messenger
- Trillian
- Threema. The Secure Messenger
- Messenger VPN (this app)
- LOQ Secure Messenger
- EchoChat
- Keet
Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.
Look up any of our apps in seconds, or put two labels side by side.
Apps similar to Messenger VPN
All secure messengers → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect identifiers → Privacy label decoder →
Your Messenger VPN privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
False: there is no Data Used to Track You section on Messenger VPN's label.
- Right.Not quite.
Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.
- Right.Not quite.
True: Identifiers appears on its label, in the Not Linked to You section.
- Right.Not quite.
It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.
- Right.Not quite.
Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.