You can now use Telegram to share your experience and perspective of the situation in Ukraine with the Guardian - you’ll see us promote the Guardian’s Telegram number in some of our live coverage and elsewhere on theguardian.com and on social networks. For now we are not using Telegram for other stories.
For advice on secure communication with the Guardian see how to contact the Guardian securely.
How will it work?
If you already use Telegram, you will have the app downloaded to your phone and will be aware of Telegram’s own terms and conditions. If not, you can download the app for free onto your device.
You can add the Guardian on Telegram as a contact by adding the number: 07799 322095 in the UK or +44(0)7799322095 from outside the UK.
If you share a story, photo or video with us via Telegram, a team of journalists monitoring the communication line will receive it. We may contact you via Telegram for more information about your story and we may use the messages we receive to inform our reporting – including featuring pictures, text and videos that you have sent – on theguardian.com and social media networks. If we contact you and you do not wish to hear from us further please reply with “opt out”.
Your data
When you use Telegram to communicate stories to the Guardian, we will receive your phone number and the public username you have set up. We may retain these details to contact you at a later date to follow up a story. Otherwise your details will not be kept for longer than necessary. We will not publish your Telegram contact details or use them for marketing purposes.
Here are some guidelines when sharing stories, images and videos with the Guardian via Telegram. Please read them before taking part.
Guidelines
1. Don’t place yourself or others in danger when making films or taking photographs to share with the Guardian via Telegram. It may not always be safe or appropriate to record or share your experiences – so please think about this when considering whether to get in touch with the Guardian.
2. If it’s appropriate, ensure you get permission from the people you are filming or photographing, in particular if you film or photograph them in private places or engaged in private activities.
3. Consider the images that you are proposing to record and who or what they might show. If you submit an image of or created by a child, and are not the parent or guardian of the child, you must get permission from the parent or guardian before sending the content to us.
4. Don’t include any content that may put us in legal jeopardy, such as potentially libellous or defamatory postings, or material posted in potential breach of copyright.
5. Don’t use material in your video or image that doesn’t belong to you or which you don’t have the right to use. You may be able to use copyright material without permission but as a general rule do not feature other people’s work (such as music, artwork or photography) in your film or image unless you have the permission of the copyright owner. Be particularly careful about playing music in your video (even cover versions) without the permission of copyright holders, especially if that music is a feature of the film rather than something going on in the background.