Channel pages · Telegram
Telegram Community
Add the bot to a Telegram group and the group appears here to configure — a welcome for new members, a /rules command, and moderation that removes links and spam before you see them.
On this screen
In the order the tour shows them.
Your bot, running a group
Add the bot to a Telegram group and the group appears here to configure — a welcome for new members, a /rules command, and moderation that removes links and spam before you see them.
Get it into a group
The add-to-group link on the Click-to-chat page invites the bot in one tap. Make it an admin with delete rights, or it can greet people but cannot remove anything.
On a group card
Shown the first time this is on screen.
One group
Everything the bot does in this group is set here. Groups appear on their own once the bot is added; the settings save per group, so a support group and an announcements group can behave differently.
Admin, or it cannot moderate
A bot can post without being an admin. It cannot delete messages or remove members unless someone promotes it — so a welcome works from the start, and moderation silently does nothing until this badge turns green.
Greet people, post the rules
The welcome goes to each new member. Rules are posted whenever anyone sends /rules. Write the rules short: three lines get read, ten get scrolled past.
Remove links, catch spam
Anti-link deletes links from non-admins; banned words and flood control handle the rest. Strikes decide what happens after repeated offences — warn, mute, kick or ban — and admins are never moderated.
Ideas you'll meet
The same explanations the ⓘ marks give in the app.
- the bot token
- BotFather gives you this once and it is the whole credential — anyone holding it controls the bot. Treat it like a password, and regenerate it in BotFather if it ever leaks. Read the guide →
- privacy mode
- In groups, a bot only sees commands and messages that mention it, unless you turn privacy mode off in BotFather. It is why a group automation can look like it is ignoring everything. Read the guide →
- who can be messaged
- Telegram has no 24-hour window, but the person has to have started the chat with your bot first. There is no way to message somebody who never pressed Start. Read the guide →
Guides
The longer reads behind this screen.
Common questions
Can a Telegram bot message someone first?
No. A person has to start the bot — usually by pressing Start — before it can send them anything. The API refuses messages to anyone who has not. A link to the bot, with a start parameter to record where they came from, is how you get people to that button.
Why doesn't my bot see messages in the group?
Privacy mode, which is on by default. In that mode a bot receives only commands, replies to itself and mentions. Turn it off in BotFather for that bot, then remove the bot from the group and add it back — the old setting persists until it is re-added.
Does Telegram have a 24-hour window like WhatsApp?
No. A bot can message anyone who has started it, whenever it likes, with no template approval. The limits that exist instead are the block button and Telegram's sending rate limits, which pace a large broadcast rather than refuse it.
What happens if my bot token leaks?
Whoever has it controls the bot until it is replaced. Ask BotFather for a new token; the old one stops working immediately, and the bot's username, chats and group memberships are unaffected. Reconnect with the new token and carry on.