Telegram verifies a personal account for the first time ever

For the first time in its history, Telegram has issued an official verification badge to a personal profile — and so far, it’s only gone to Pavel Durov.

So, does this mean regular users will soon be able to get a blue check from Telegram?

Here’s what we know so far

Personal user accounts have never received official verification directly from Telegram. And as of now, this feature is still unavailable. The platform’s rules and documentation also haven’t been updated to reflect any changes in how verification works.

At the beginning of 2025, Telegram launched organizational verification — approved organizations can issue their own verification badges to individual accounts and channels.
For example, in March, Pavel Durov received a badge from the well-known project @major as part of the "Verification Platform 2.0" system.
Now, Durov’s profile displays a badge issued directly by Telegram, along with a tag beneath it that reads: "This account is verified as official by the representative of Telegram."

Interestingly, this verification tag is identical to the one seen on channels verified by Telegram itself. However, instead of the usual blue checkmark, Durov’s profile features a Telegram logo.

Here’s the thing — channels and bots verified through Telegram’s official tools get a standard checkmark. Any other icons, such as Durov’s Telegram logo, are typically used by third-party organizations participating in the "Verification Platform 2.0". Judging

All official verification is supposed to go through the platform’s @VerifyBot. But with the appearance of this new badge, a similar bot has also surfaced: @TelegramVerifierBot.