Why Telegram is the only app banned ahead of the Neet retest

The Telegram vs WhatsApp debate is at the epicentre ahead of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Neet) in India.

After the Neet UG 2026 paper leak, the Centre has restricted access to the messaging platform Telegram in the run-up to the re-examination scheduled for June 21. This came after the cancellation of the initial May 3 exam.

Following the move, Telegram is set to be unavailable until June 22, and its message-editing feature will also be disabled until June 30, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said in a statement on X on Tuesday (June 16). The aim is to prevent exam fraud, which resulted in the cancellation of a crucial test last month.

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The move appears logical; however, it has raised a question among millions of users: If Telegram is banned, why is India not banning WhatsApp as well?

We take a look.

What's the rationale behind the Telegram ban?

According to NTA, Telegram channels operating openly on the platform allegedly demanded payments ranging from a few thousand rupees to several lakhs from candidates and their families, promising access to the re-examination question papers.

Investigators said organised cheating syndicates were exploiting Telegram channels and groups to prey on anxious students, luring them with claims of leaked question papers and assurances of guaranteed success.

A web page of the Russian messenger app MAX is displayed on a smartphone next to a screen showing the logos of the WhatsApp and Telegram applications in this illustration taken September 4, 2025. File Image/Reuters

According to NTA, which conducts competitive entrance exams, multiple Telegram channels were operating under names such as “PAPER LEAKED NEET", “Re-NEET 2026" and “Private Mafia", to trick aspirants by claiming they could provide access to the question paper.

The cybercrime branch of the Ahmedabad city police on Monday (June 15) arrested two Rajasthan men for allegedly operating a Telegram-based scam that duped medical aspirants and their parents by falsely claiming to possess the Neet re-examination question paper and offering to sell it. Authorities said the accused did not, in fact, have any leaked documents, The Indian Express reported.

When it comes to alleged fraud groups, including those involving fake exam papers, Telegram appears to be the go-to platform. The key reason is that, in a way, Telegram is designed.

When creating a profile on Telegram, your phone number is hidden from other users, and users can use the app just by its name. Once a profile is created on Telegram, it's very easy for the user to create a channel with unlimited subscribers. All this while keeping the identity anonymous.

In other words, a group of individuals can conceal their identities while operating a channel with millions of subscribers, making it considerably harder to identify those behind the scam compared to a platform like WhatsApp.

Therefore, authorities described the action as a preventive measure to protect the integrity of the reset, rather than a permanent ban on the platform.

What's Telegram's message editing problem?

The platform's message editing problem is one of the key concerns for investigators. In Telegram's edit feature, you can edit older messages while retaining the original timestamp.

Admins were exploiting this feature to edit older messages and, in some cases, replace them with PDF files to allegedly create fake evidence of question paper leaks, according to NTA. Now, this editing feature has also been disabled in India until June 30.

WhatsApp, on the other hand, only allows editing messages; its duration is limited and does not permit adding any files.

Professor V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, has explained Telegram's editing feature and why it remains a grave concern.

"There is a vulnerability in the Telegram platform. Wherein you can send the message, say today at 3 pm, and you can edit the message tomorrow or some other day later without changing the time stamp...Using this vulnerability, there's been an attempt in past to create confusion and panic among candidates who appeared for multiple competitive examinations," Kamakoti decoded.

"Two instances, in the best of my knowledge: one in the case of GE advanced, and another is the Ice Adaptitude Test...We must be aware of such exploitations..." he added.

Why is WhatsApp left untouched?

The government has not made any public allegations against WhatsApp in connection with the ongoing Neet-related investigations.

Although WhatsApp can also be used to circulate misinformation, its design is more restricted: communication mainly occurs through private chats and groups linked to phone numbers, making large-scale public broadcasting less prevalent than Telegram’s channel-based system.

WhatsApp acts on government directives even in India, whereas Telegram does not have an office in India, which makes enforcement a little more difficult.

On WhatsApp, Meta employs AI-based tools to automatically track usage patterns. While the company maintains that it cannot access the content of private messages or conversations, it does use AI to monitor activity patterns and user behaviour in public groups.

This level of policing is another reason why cybercriminals and fraud networks tend to prefer Telegram; as a result, regulators have targeted the platform.

The decision is not based on which app is larger, but which app, according to authorities, can be used extensively for the specific misconduct.

With inputs from agencies