{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Dataset", "identifier": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "name": "Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026", "description": "Documented Telegram platform limits that determine which messages are observable to a bot versus a personal account, compiled for the Telegram Operations Benchmark 2026. Every value is published by Telegram; each row carries its primary source.", "version": "2.0.0", "creator": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Entergram Research", "url": "https://www.entergram.com" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Entergram Research", "url": "https://www.entergram.com/research" }, "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "isAccessibleForFree": true, "url": "https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-operations-benchmark-2026", "researchQuestion": "Which documented Telegram platform limits decide what a bot can observe and do compared with a personal account?", "methodology": "Every value is transcribed from Telegram's own published documentation at the checked date. Entergram measured nothing here. Where Telegram publishes no figure, the cell records the absence of a published figure rather than an estimate, and value_status is set to not-published.", "provenanceNote": "This dataset contains no Entergram measurements and no vendor claims. Each row cites the Telegram page it was transcribed from.", "limitations": [ "Telegram changes documented limits without notice, so cite this table with its checked_on date.", "Personal-account throughput is governed by undocumented anti-spam limits and cannot be verified against a primary source.", "Numeric columns are Entergram's normalisation of Telegram's prose, provided for machine comparison. The prose columns are authoritative." ], "note": "Telegram publishes explicit throughput ceilings for the Bot API but does not publish equivalent figures for personal accounts, which are governed by undocumented anti-spam limits. Those cells record the absence of a published figure rather than an estimate.", "datePublished": "2026-09-14", "dateModified": "2026-09-15", "checkedOn": "2026-09-14", "nextReviewDue": "2027-03-14", "status": "current", "correctionsPolicy": { "contact": "hello@entergram.com", "process": "Send the constraint_id, the disputed value and the Telegram page that states otherwise. Accepted corrections increment dataset_version and are recorded in dataset-changelog.csv.", "targetResponseDays": 5 }, "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv", "distribution": [ { "@type": "DataDownload", "encodingFormat": "text/csv", "contentUrl": "https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "@type": "DataDownload", "encodingFormat": "application/json", "contentUrl": "https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.json" } ], "rowCount": 12, "columns": [ "constraint_id", "dimension", "constraint", "bot_api", "personal_account", "unit", "bot_api_numeric", "personal_account_numeric", "bot_api_value_status", "personal_account_value_status", "premium_variant", "why_it_matters", "transport_bot", "transport_personal", "source_url", "source_id", "source_publisher", "source_label", "source_tier", "evidence_basis", "claim_confidence", "measured_by_entergram", "checked_on", "next_review_due", "dataset_id", "dataset_version", "license", "license_url", "publisher", "corrections_contact", "citation" ], "rows": [ { "constraint_id": "C01", "dimension": "initiation-rights", "constraint": "Start a conversation with a user who has not written first", "bot_api": "Not permitted", "personal_account": "Permitted, subject to the recipient’s privacy settings", "unit": "boolean", "bot_api_numeric": "false", "personal_account_numeric": "true", "bot_api_value_status": "documented", "personal_account_value_status": "documented", "premium_variant": "none", "why_it_matters": "Decides whether a tool can do outbound work at all, and is the single largest difference between a bot-based and an account-based Telegram workflow.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://core.telegram.org/bots", "source_id": "S-TG-BOTS", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram Bot platform introduction for developers", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C01, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "constraint_id": "C02", "dimension": "group-visibility", "constraint": "See every message in a group by default", "bot_api": "No, Privacy Mode limits a bot to commands directed at it and replies to it", "personal_account": "Yes, every message the account can see in the client", "unit": "boolean", "bot_api_numeric": "false", "personal_account_numeric": "true", "bot_api_value_status": "documented", "personal_account_value_status": "documented", "premium_variant": "none", "why_it_matters": "Sets the observable population for any group analytics or lead-sourcing claim. A bot-only dataset silently omits most group traffic.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://core.telegram.org/bots/features", "source_id": "S-TG-BOTFEAT", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram Bot platform feature and limit reference", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C02, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "constraint_id": "C03", "dimension": "history-access", "constraint": "Read a chat’s existing message history", "bot_api": "No, guest mode grants no access to message history or the participant list", "personal_account": "Yes, the history available in the client", "unit": "boolean", "bot_api_numeric": "false", "personal_account_numeric": "true", "bot_api_value_status": "documented", "personal_account_value_status": "documented", "premium_variant": "none", "why_it_matters": "Determines whether a CRM can inherit conversations that already happened or can only start recording from the day it is connected.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://core.telegram.org/bots/features", "source_id": "S-TG-BOTFEAT", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram Bot platform feature and limit reference", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C03, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "constraint_id": "C04", "dimension": "file-transfer", "constraint": "Maximum file download", "bot_api": "20 MB", "personal_account": "2 GB, 4 GB with Premium", "unit": "bytes", "bot_api_numeric": "20971520", "personal_account_numeric": "2147483648", "bot_api_value_status": "documented", "personal_account_value_status": "documented", "premium_variant": "Personal account rises to 4 GB with Telegram Premium", "why_it_matters": "Caps what an automated workflow can retrieve from a chat, such as contracts, invoices or media a customer sends.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://core.telegram.org/bots/features", "source_id": "S-TG-BOTFEAT", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram Bot platform feature and limit reference", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C04, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "constraint_id": "C05", "dimension": "file-transfer", "constraint": "Maximum file upload", "bot_api": "50 MB", "personal_account": "2 GB, 4 GB with Premium", "unit": "bytes", "bot_api_numeric": "52428800", "personal_account_numeric": "2147483648", "bot_api_value_status": "documented", "personal_account_value_status": "documented", "premium_variant": "Personal account rises to 4 GB with Telegram Premium", "why_it_matters": "Caps what an automated workflow can deliver back into a chat.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://core.telegram.org/bots/features", "source_id": "S-TG-BOTFEAT", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram Bot platform feature and limit reference", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C05, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "constraint_id": "C06", "dimension": "throughput", "constraint": "Broadcast throughput ceiling", "bot_api": "About 30 messages per second, up to 1000 per second with paid broadcasts", "personal_account": "No published figure, governed by undocumented anti-spam limits", "unit": "messages-per-second", "bot_api_numeric": "30", "personal_account_numeric": "", "bot_api_value_status": "documented", "personal_account_value_status": "not-published", "premium_variant": "Bot API raises this to about 1000 per second with paid broadcasts", "why_it_matters": "Bounds any claim about large-scale sending. Personal-account figures are not published, so throughput claims for accounts are unverifiable against primary sources.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://core.telegram.org/bots/faq", "source_id": "S-TG-BOTFAQ", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram Bot platform FAQ, including throughput limits", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C06, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "constraint_id": "C07", "dimension": "throughput", "constraint": "Messages per minute in one group", "bot_api": "20", "personal_account": "No published figure", "unit": "messages-per-minute", "bot_api_numeric": "20", "personal_account_numeric": "", "bot_api_value_status": "documented", "personal_account_value_status": "not-published", "premium_variant": "none", "why_it_matters": "Bounds automated posting into a single community and is the limit most group automations hit first.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://core.telegram.org/bots/faq", "source_id": "S-TG-BOTFAQ", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram Bot platform FAQ, including throughput limits", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C07, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "constraint_id": "C08", "dimension": "throughput", "constraint": "Messages per second in one chat", "bot_api": "1", "personal_account": "No published figure", "unit": "messages-per-second", "bot_api_numeric": "1", "personal_account_numeric": "", "bot_api_value_status": "documented", "personal_account_value_status": "not-published", "premium_variant": "none", "why_it_matters": "Bounds burst replies in a single conversation and shapes realistic first-response-time targets.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://core.telegram.org/bots/faq", "source_id": "S-TG-BOTFAQ", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram Bot platform FAQ, including throughput limits", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C08, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "constraint_id": "C09", "dimension": "message-lifecycle", "constraint": "Window in which a sent message can still be edited", "bot_api": "48 hours", "personal_account": "48 hours", "unit": "hours", "bot_api_numeric": "48", "personal_account_numeric": "48", "bot_api_value_status": "documented", "personal_account_value_status": "documented", "premium_variant": "none", "why_it_matters": "Sets how long a correction workflow can amend an outgoing message in place rather than sending a follow-up.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://core.telegram.org/bots/api", "source_id": "S-TG-BOTAPI", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram Bot API method and field reference", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C09, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "constraint_id": "C10", "dimension": "message-size", "constraint": "Maximum text message length", "bot_api": "4096 characters", "personal_account": "4096 characters, 8192 with Premium", "unit": "characters", "bot_api_numeric": "4096", "personal_account_numeric": "4096", "bot_api_value_status": "documented", "personal_account_value_status": "documented", "premium_variant": "Personal account rises to 8192 characters with Telegram Premium", "why_it_matters": "Constrains templated and AI-generated replies, which are commonly truncated or split at this boundary.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://core.telegram.org/bots/api", "source_id": "S-TG-BOTAPI", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram Bot API method and field reference", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C10, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "constraint_id": "C11", "dimension": "message-size", "constraint": "Maximum media caption length", "bot_api": "1024 characters", "personal_account": "1024 characters, 2048 with Premium", "unit": "characters", "bot_api_numeric": "1024", "personal_account_numeric": "1024", "bot_api_value_status": "documented", "personal_account_value_status": "documented", "premium_variant": "Personal account rises to 2048 characters with Telegram Premium", "why_it_matters": "Constrains how much context can travel with an attachment instead of in a separate message.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://core.telegram.org/bots/api", "source_id": "S-TG-BOTAPI", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram Bot API method and field reference", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C11, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" }, { "constraint_id": "C12", "dimension": "group-scale", "constraint": "Maximum group participants", "bot_api": "Same limit, bots cannot create groups", "personal_account": "200000", "unit": "members", "bot_api_numeric": "", "personal_account_numeric": "200000", "bot_api_value_status": "not-applicable", "personal_account_value_status": "documented", "premium_variant": "none", "why_it_matters": "Sets the ceiling for community-scale work and for how large a single observable group can be.", "transport_bot": "Telegram Bot API", "transport_personal": "MTProto client API", "source_url": "https://telegram.org/faq", "source_id": "S-TG-FAQ", "source_publisher": "Telegram", "source_label": "Telegram general FAQ", "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc", "evidence_basis": "Published by Telegram in its own documentation", "claim_confidence": "high, documented by the platform operator", "measured_by_entergram": "no", "checked_on": "2026-09-14", "next_review_due": "2027-03-14", "dataset_id": "EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026", "dataset_version": "2.0.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "publisher": "Entergram Research", "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com", "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram platform constraints, Bot API versus personal account, 2026\", row C12, version 2.0.0, checked 2026-09-14, https://www.entergram.com/research/telegram-platform-constraints-2026.csv" } ] }