Message freely
Access Telegram from anywhere
Telegram is a lifeline for activists, journalists, and everyday people in censored countries. It's also one of the most frequently blocked messaging apps in the world. Lantern keeps you connected.
How to access Telegram with a VPN in restricted countries
Step 1: Get Lantern
Download Lantern on your phone or computer. It's free.
Step 2: Open and connect
Open Lantern and tap to connect. Lantern picks the best protocol for your network automatically.
Step 3: Enjoy Telegram
Open the Telegram app or go to web.telegram.org. All features work — messages, calls, channels, and groups.
Where is Telegram blocked?
Telegram is blocked in more countries than most messaging apps because of how it's used. Its large group channels, encrypted chats, and resistance to government content requests make it a frequent target.
Fully blocked:
- Iran — blocked since 2018. Telegram was Iran's most popular messaging app before the ban, used by over 40 million Iranians. The government promoted domestic alternatives like Soroush and iGap.1
- China — blocked as part of the Great Firewall2
- North Korea, Turkmenistan — no access to most Western apps
Restricted or intermittently blocked:
- Russia — was officially blocked from 2018 to 2020, then unblocked. Since 2022, access has been more complicated, with periodic restrictions.3
- Pakistan — has temporarily restricted Telegram during political protests4
- Iraq, Belarus, Ethiopia, Thailand — have blocked or throttled Telegram during periods of unrest4
- India — has temporarily restricted Telegram in specific regions, particularly in Kashmir and during protests4
Why Telegram is a special target: Governments specifically target Telegram because it's the platform of choice for organizing. Its large group channels (up to 200,000 members), anonymous forwarding, and encrypted secret chats make it a primary tool for protest coordination, independent news distribution, and political opposition in many censored regions.5
Why Lantern works when other VPNs don't
Iran's case is the most telling. When Iran banned Telegram in 2018, millions of Iranians switched to VPNs to keep using it. The government responded by blocking VPN traffic. Standard protocols like OpenVPN and WireGuard were detected and shut down within hours during crackdowns.6
Lantern's protocol stack is built for exactly this situation. Protocols like Shadowsocks, VLESS, and Hysteria 2 make your traffic indistinguishable from regular web browsing. When Iran's government intensified its crackdowns in 2022, Lantern carried 13% of all Iranian internet traffic — not by marketing, but because it was one of the few tools that still worked.
Lantern is a nonprofit. Its only mission is keeping people connected. Every Pro subscription funds free access for people in censored regions.