If you use Telegram daily, it's a good idea to stop for a moment and check what data are you exposing without realizing it. A very specific social feature, called "People Nearby," has been shown to make it easier the estimate of your physical location with enough precision to make anyone uncomfortable.
In recent weeks, an open-source project has become popular that exploits this feature to "paint" users on the map. Although Telegram insists that the option is disabled by default, and that the data is displaced from the actual position, it is worth checking the setting, understanding the risks, and, if necessary, disabling it completely.
What is "People Nearby" and why can it compromise your privacy?
"People Nearby" was born as a function to discover profiles and groups in your surroundings, allowing you to talk to strangers without sharing your phone number. When active, it shows nearby users and indicates how far they are from you, keeping the number hidden but leaving other data visible such as the username and, if you have it set to public, profile picture.
On paper it sounds innocent, but the security community has shown that this approximate distance is sufficient, combined with different observation points, to triangulate. a fairly concrete positionAnd this is where Close-Circuit Telegram Vision (CCTV) comes in, an open source tool hosted on GitHub that connects to the Telegram API to list visible users in a given area.
CCTV developer Ivan Glinkin (a cybersecurity expert) claims his system achieves accuracy of between 50 and 100 meters. His program allows users to view their locations. anywhere in the world, unlike the app, which limits you to your area. As detailed, the tool doesn't search by username: it requires you to enter Geographical coordinates as input and returns the profiles that appear around those coordinates, showing available usernames and profile pictures.
Telegram, for its part, lowers the alarm: it maintains that its servers do not save the exact position and that they apply a margin of approximately 800 meters to location data. They also remind you that "People Nearby" is turned off by default and is only shown to you if you grant location permission and manually decide to "make yourself visible." Even so, the existence of a tool that automates collection on a global scale multiplies the risk.
To illustrate how it works, its author posted a video on YouTube, but the clip was removed for violating the platform's rules. However, the material remains available from the repository. GitHub of the CCTV projectThe fact that you can't search by "@username" doesn't make it any less important that, with coordinates, the tool lists profiles and photos in the chosen area.
How to check if you're visible and turn off People Nearby
The first thing is to check your status. If "People Nearby" isn't active, you'll see options like "Make me visible" or "Allow access" when you open that section. This is a sign that you are not sharing your presence with nearby users. If a red button to exit appears instead, it means that yes you are visible and you should disable it as soon as possible.
On Android, open the side menu using the button in the top left corner and select "People Nearby." On iPhone, access it within the "People Nearby" tab. Contacts, where it's listed as "Find people nearby." If you see the "Make me visible" button, you're safe; if "Hide me" appears in red above the list of people around you, click there to stop sharing the approximate location.
An important caveat: if you set your profile picture to be visible only to your contacts, even with "People Nearby" enabled, you'll limit what others can see about you. Still, it's wise to keep the feature on to avoid proximity tracking. completely disabled, especially if you don't use it consciously.
Remember that for "People Nearby" to work, Telegram will ask for location permission. If you deny this permission, the app won't be able to detect your position and the section will show the button to activate it. It's preferable not to grant this permission if your goal is shield your privacy, and only grant it temporarily if you are going to check something specific.
If you're worried about checking it quickly, the most reliable indicator is that red "Hide Me" button. Clicking it will stop you from appearing in third-party listings and prevent tools like CCTV from including you when scanning. nearby coordinatesAfter hiding, the text will change to "Make me visible," confirming that it's disabled.
Key updates: Telegram removes "People Nearby" and prepares "Businesses Nearby"
With a focus on moderation and security, Telegram has decided to remove "People Nearby" from the server side, so that stop working even in older versions of the app. Pavel Durov himself confirmed that less than 0,1% of users used it and that abuse by bots and scammers had turned it into a problem rather than an added value.
The move doesn't come in a vacuum. Following Durov's arrest in France—an episode surrounded by serious accusations—the company has promised to shift moderation "from an area of criticism to one of praise." In that context, they have updated their FAQ to highlight ways to report content and have announced decisions that seek to improve public perception of the platform.
As a substitute for legitimate activity, Telegram is preparing "Nearby Businesses", a future section designed to highlight verified businesses that will be able to display catalogs and accept paymentsThe idea is to maintain "local" utility without exposing individual users to spam or harassment.
This isn't the only adjustment. Telegraph, the lightweight blogging tool associated with the ecosystem, will limit uploads. new media (images and videos) due to their misuse by anonymous actors, a problem highlighted by security research linking them to phishing campaigns.
In parallel, Telegram highlights its massive reach: hundreds of millions of monthly active users and a role as a primary alternative to WhatsApp, especially when Meta's service goes down. With that scale, product and moderation changes have effects highly visible to the community.
Then and now: legitimate uses, real risks, and how to move wisely
It's important to understand where we're coming from to make better decisions. When it was introduced in 2019, "People Nearby" had a social goal: to help you discover profiles and groups in your neighborhood, chat with new people without sharing your phone, and make it easier local meetingsAt its best, it served to discover common interests or coordinate get-togethers without giving away too much information.
The problem is that any option that exposes geographic proximity can be exploited. The distance in meters and the public visibility of the username and profile picture are enough for third-party and automated tools, with a little technical expertise. cross signals and approach locations with a precision that does not interest you.
In parallel, Telegram allows you to share your live location with specific contacts, with proximity alerts, a completely different feature from "People Nearby" and designed for practical cases such as to remain in motionThat private utility has its place; the conflict arises when the proximity signal becomes public and "scrapeable" by bots.
The moral is simple: adjust your settings to the minimum necessary. If you don't use these features, disable them. Limit who can see your photo, always hide your number, and review system permissions so the app doesn't access your location except in specific moments. This way you drastically reduce the exposure surface.
And of course, be wary of People Nearby listings. Although "People Nearby" is being phased out today, if you still see it in your app or it appears on someone's device asking you to "make yourself visible," remember that your profile may end up in third-party databases if you enable the feature out of curiosity or for a reason. innocent proof.
What we know about CCTV and how it fits into all of this
Close-Circuit Telegram Vision isn't black magic, it's automation. The official app shows the distance to users with active visibility; CCTV queries the API and replicates what any user could see, but big scale and without leaving the couch. That means if you're not visible, the tool can't list you.
The flow of use is simple: you enter coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the area of interest, and the program returns visible profiles around, with usernames and images If they're public, there's no "@user" search field to find someone specific; the input is coordinates, and the output is a set of users near those coordinates.
The controversy arises from the degree of accuracy. Glinkin maintains that his method offers between 50 and 100 meters, which, in dense cities, may be enough to locate someone in a portal or block Telegram refutes this precision with its argument of the 800 meters of displacement on the server, a discrepancy that does not eliminate the risk of identification when combined multiple readings and other sources.
For the average user, the recommendation is clear: disable "People Nearby" if it still appears in your app, don't grant location permissions for that section, and avoid being visible. Although the CCTV explanatory video was removed from YouTube for violating policies, it is still accessible in the YouTube repository. GitHub, ensuring that third parties can replicate it.
Just because a feature is “off by default” doesn’t mean you never turned it on by mistake or out of curiosityTake a minute to review the settings. If the interface gives you the option to "Make myself visible," you're good to go; if you see "Hide myself" in red, press it and close the door to be picked up from random coordinates.
Quick guide by platform and clues to reinforce your safety
Android: Open the side menu (three-line icon), go to "People Nearby" and check the status. If there's a red "Hide Me" button, tap it to stop watching. share proximityIf it shows "Make me visible," you're not exposing your location. You can also revoke location permission from System Settings to block accidental access.
iPhone: Go to the Contacts tab and tap "Find People Nearby." Just like on Android, the visible button tells you your status: "Make me visible" means that you are hidden"Hide me" indicates that you're currently visible and should log out. You can also restrict Telegram access from your iOS Settings under Privacy/Location.
Details to remember that make a difference: if your profile picture is only seen by your contacts, you reduce the impact of appearing in listings. However, proximity data still exists if you activate the feature, so the safest option is to keep it. always inactive that you don't need it.
If you liked the "local" component, check out the next one: "Nearby Businesses" promises verified business listings with integrated catalogs and payments. The logic is to offer neighborhood utility without turning users into easy targets. scrapers and bots that harvest profiles.
Finally, close the circle with healthy habits: Review your privacy settings on Telegram (who can see your number, photo, last seen), limit messages from strangers, disable automatic downloading of media from dubious sources, and discuss these changes with your contacts. With such a huge user base, the network effect of good practice bill.
Between the original design of "People Nearby," its social potential, and real abuse by malicious actors, Telegram has chosen to cut its losses. While the service pivots to safer options and enhanced moderation, you can rest easy by making sure you're not visible and that your photo and permissions are in mode. privateThe key isn't just turning off a switch, but rather understanding how signals intersect and why they're worth keeping under control.
