# Telegram Group Settings This guide covers the **Channel Settings** panel for your Telegram bot — how to configure DM access, group access, mentions, and the allowlist. It also covers deeper group-specific concepts like Privacy Mode and forum topics. *** ## Overview Once your Telegram bot is connected (see [Connect Telegram](/guides/connect-telegram.md)), you can fine-tune its behavior under **Settings** → **Channels** → **Telegram** → **Channel Settings**. Control is split across two axes: 1. **DM Policy** — who can direct-message your bot 2. **Group Policy** — which groups your bot responds in, and who within them can trigger it *** ## Channel Settings Panel Expand **Channel Settings** under the Telegram section of your dashboard to reveal all configuration options. ![Telegram Channel Settings panel in Genie dashboard](/files/xfmBOXdz4DdChUkTi1Zy) ### Enabled A master toggle. When off, the bot will not respond to any message — DMs or groups. Turn this off to temporarily disable the channel without disconnecting the bot. *** ### DM Policy Controls who can direct-message the bot. Four options: * **Pairing — require approval code** (default) — users must pair by entering an approval code before the bot responds to them * **Open — anyone can DM** — any Telegram user can DM the bot (use carefully; the bot has full access to your server) * **Allowlist — pre-approved only** — only user IDs in the Allowlist can DM the bot * **Disabled — no DMs** — the bot ignores all direct messages *** ### Group Policy Controls which groups the bot responds in. Three options: * **Open — all chats (mention-gated)** — the bot responds in any group it is added to (still respects Require Mention) * **Allowlist — pre-approved chats** (default) — the bot only responds in chats whose IDs are in the **Allowed Chats** list * **Disabled — no groups** — the bot ignores all group messages *** ### Allowed Chats When Group Policy is set to **Allowlist**, add the group chat IDs you want the bot to respond in. * Telegram group chat IDs are **negative numbers**, e.g. `-1001234567890` * Paste the ID into the **Chat ID** input and click **Add chat** * To find a group's chat ID, add the bot to the group — the pairing request in your Genie settings will display the group ID *** ### Require Mention By default, the bot only responds when @mentioned in groups. This keeps noise down in busy channels. * **On** (default) — the bot ignores group messages unless tagged with `@botusername` * **Off** — the bot responds to all messages in the group (requires Privacy Mode to be disabled — see below) *** ### Allowlist (User IDs) A list of numeric Telegram user IDs that the bot treats as pre-approved. Used when DM Policy is set to **Allowlist**. * Enter a **numeric** Telegram user ID (e.g. `1032102740`) into the input and click **Add user** * Use **Remove** next to an existing ID to revoke access * Telegram **usernames** (@handles) are not accepted here — you must use the numeric user ID **How to find a Telegram user ID:** search for [@userinfobot](https://t.me/userinfobot) or [@getidsbot](https://t.me/getidsbot) in Telegram and start a chat — the bot replies with your numeric user ID. *** ## Adding the Bot to a Group Open the Telegram group info → **Add Members** → search for your bot's username. The bot will not respond in the group until: 1. The Group Policy allows it (Open, or Allowlist with the group's chat ID added), and 2. Require Mention is satisfied (either mention the bot, or turn it off) *** ## Privacy Mode Telegram's **Privacy Mode** is enabled by default on all bots. It limits which group messages reach the bot. With Privacy Mode **enabled**, the bot only sees: * Messages where it is @mentioned * Commands (messages starting with `/`) * Replies to its own messages If you want the bot to see **all messages** in a group (required when Require Mention is off), you have two options: ### Option A: Disable Privacy Mode via BotFather 1. Open [@BotFather](https://t.me/BotFather) in Telegram 2. Send `/setprivacy` 3. Select your bot 4. Choose **Disable** After changing this setting, **remove and re-add** the bot to the group for the change to take effect. ### Option B: Make the Bot a Group Administrator Promote the bot to **administrator** in the group settings. Admin status grants full message visibility regardless of Privacy Mode — no BotFather changes needed. *** ## Forum Supergroups (Topics) For forum-enabled supergroups, each topic can have its own configuration: * **Require Mention** — override the group-level setting per topic * **Allowed senders** — restrict who can use the bot in specific topics Topic settings inherit from the parent group unless explicitly overridden. The General topic (topic ID 1) uses the group's default configuration. *** ## Tips * Start with **Pairing** DM Policy to control who can DM your bot * Use **numeric Telegram user IDs** (not @usernames) in the Allowlist — find yours by messaging [@userinfobot](https://t.me/userinfobot) or [@getidsbot](https://t.me/getidsbot) * Use **Allowlist** Group Policy and add chat IDs explicitly for shared team groups * Turn on **Require Mention** in busy groups to reduce noise * Make the bot an **admin** if you want it to respond to all messages without @mentions * Each user who DMs the bot under Pairing policy needs to complete the pairing flow individually * All interactions consume credits from the Genie account that connected the bot --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.deva.me/guides/telegram-groups.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.