How to Add People on Telegram Chats, Groups and Channels

Adding someone on Telegram works differently for a contact, a group and a channel. Each has its own steps and its own limits, and channels in particular stop accepting direct adds early on.

Add a contact

• By phone number: open Contacts, tap Add contact, enter their number. If they use Telegram, they appear.
• By username: search their @username in the search bar and open a chat. No number needed.
• In person: Telegram's QR code on your profile lets someone scan and add you.

Add people to a group

1. Open the group and tap its name.
2. Tap Add members.
3. Pick contacts and confirm.

People's privacy settings can stop you adding them directly. In that case, send them the group's invite link instead.

Add people to a channel

Channel admins can add contacts directly, but only the first 200 members can be added this way. After that, people join through the channel link or by finding it in search.

Growing a channel past 200

• Share the public link (t.me/yourchannel) on your other profiles and website.
• Make the channel public with a clear name so it turns up in Telegram search.
• Swap mentions with channels on similar topics.
• Post on a schedule so members stay and forward posts to friends.

Buying channel members

Panels sell Telegram channel and group members, including premium members, delivered to your public channel link. A new channel with a handful of members can look abandoned, which is why some owners buy a starting number. Bought members break Telegram's terms on spam and fake activity, and they do not read your posts. The Telegram panel page lists the member services, and Telegram channel views covers the view counter under each post.