How to Block Someone in a Telegram Group (and What They See)

To block someone you met in a Telegram group, tap their name in the chat to open their profile, open the menu, and choose Block. Blocking stops them from messaging or calling you privately, but it does not remove you from each other's shared groups: in current versions, you will generally both still see each other's group messages. If someone is spamming, scamming or harassing people in the group, report them to the admins and to Telegram as well as blocking them.

This guide walks through how to block someone, what changes for you and for them, what blocking cannot do inside a group, and the other tools that fill the gaps.

How to block someone you met in a group

The steps are almost the same on every app, though menu wording differs a little between iPhone, Android and desktop.

From the group chat

1. Open the group and find a message from the person.
2. Tap their name or profile picture on the message. This opens their profile. (On desktop, click their name.)
3. Open the menu on their profile, usually shown as three dots or "More".
4. Choose Block User (sometimes just "Block").
5. Confirm.

From a private chat

If they have already messaged you privately:

1. Open the private chat.
2. Tap their name at the top to open their profile, or open the chat menu.
3. Choose Block User.

When a stranger who is not in your contacts messages you for the first time, Telegram often shows a bar at the top of the chat with options such as Report Spam and Block. Using it blocks the account and reports it in one step.

From the member list

If you cannot find a message from them, open the group's info page, find the member list, search for their name, open their profile, and block them from there. In very large groups the full member list may not be visible to ordinary members, in which case use one of their messages instead.

What blocking does

Once you block someone, in current versions of Telegram:

• They cannot send you private messages. Messages they try to send you are not delivered to you.
• They cannot call you with voice or video calls.
• They cannot see your online status or exact last seen time. To them, you appear as "last seen a long time ago", regardless of your real activity.
• They may stop seeing updates to your profile, such as a new profile photo, depending on your settings and app version.

You also keep control: you can unblock them later at any time, and your past private chat with them is not deleted unless you delete it yourself.

What blocking does not do in a shared group

This is the part that surprises people. Blocking is about your private contact with that person. It does not change the group.

• You both stay in the group. Blocking does not remove them, and only admins can remove members.
• They can still read your messages in the group. Anything you post in a shared group is visible to every member, including people you have blocked.
• You will generally still see their messages in the group. Telegram's official apps do not offer a simple switch that hides one member's group messages from you in every version. Some apps may collapse or mark messages from blocked users; do not rely on it.
• They can still reply to your group messages and mention you with @, and you may still get a notification for the mention.
• They can still see your public profile details that you show to everyone, such as your name, username and profile photo, depending on your privacy settings.

In short, blocking closes the private door. It does not build a wall inside the group.

Will they know I blocked them?

Telegram does not send a notification saying "you have been blocked". But people can sometimes work it out from indirect signs:

• Your status shows "last seen a long time ago" to them, even if you are clearly active in a shared group.
• Their private messages to you are never delivered or read.
• Calls to you do not go through.

None of these is proof, because people can also hide their last seen time through privacy settings. If you are worried about how someone will react, focus on your own safety rather than whether they can guess.

When blocking is not enough

Blocking protects you in private. If a person is causing trouble in the group itself, other tools help more.

Tell the group admins

Admins can delete messages, restrict a member from posting, or remove and ban them from the group. Open the group's info page to find the admin list, and message one of the listed admins, or post in the group if the rules allow it. Include links or screenshots of the messages.

A word of caution: scammers sometimes pretend to be admins. If you report a problem and then get a private message from an "admin" asking for money, codes or personal information, that is not an admin. Group Wall's guide on fake admins explains how to check.

Report the account or message to Telegram

You can report someone to Telegram as well as blocking them:

• Report a message: long-press (or right-click) the message and choose Report, then pick a reason.
• Report an account: open their profile, open the menu, and choose Report (on some apps this is combined with blocking).

Reporting is how Telegram learns about spam, scams, impersonation and abuse. Group Wall has a separate guide on reporting in more detail.

Mute or leave the group

If the group itself has become unpleasant and the admins are not helping, you can mute it to stop notifications, or leave it. Leaving is often the cleanest option when a group is badly moderated. There are usually other groups on the same topic; you can search Group Wall or browse categories to find one with active admins.

Report the group

If the whole group exists to scam people or spread abuse, report the group to Telegram from its info page menu. If it is listed on Group Wall, you can also use the Report button on its group page. Group Wall shows how many people reported a group as a scam in the last 30 days, a count rather than a verdict, which helps others decide whether to join.

For threats or serious harassment

If someone threatens you, shares your private information, or harasses you in a way that makes you feel unsafe, take screenshots before anything is deleted, report the account to Telegram, and consider contacting local authorities. Blocking alone is not the right response to a genuine threat.

Settings that stop problems before they start

A few privacy settings reduce how much a stranger from a group can do in the first place. Find them in Settings, under Privacy and Security. Names vary slightly by app and version.

• Phone number. Set who can see your number to "Nobody" (or "My Contacts"). People in a group then cannot see it from your profile.
• Last seen and online. Choose who can see when you were last online.
• Profile photos. Choose who can see your profile pictures.
• Groups and channels (or "Invites"). Choose who can add you to groups. Setting this to "My Contacts" stops strangers from adding you to spam groups; Group Wall has a full guide on this.
• Calls. Choose who can call you.
• Messages. In current versions, Telegram offers options to limit private messages from people who are not your contacts. What is available can depend on your account and app version.
• Forwarded messages. Choose whether your name links back to your account when someone forwards your message.

You can also set a username and hide your phone number entirely, which lets people in groups mention you without seeing your number.

How to unblock someone

If you change your mind:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Open Privacy and Security.
3. Open Blocked Users (sometimes "Blocked").
4. Find the person and choose Unblock (swipe, long-press or tap their entry, depending on your app).

You can also open their profile and choose Unblock from the menu. Unblocking does not deliver messages they tried to send while blocked; those are not saved for you.

Common situations

A stranger from a group keeps messaging me

Block them and, if the messages are spam or a scam pitch, report them using the bar at the top of the chat. Then check your privacy settings so fewer strangers can reach you. Remember that real admins almost never message members first with offers.

Someone is arguing with me in a group

Blocking stops them from moving the argument into your private messages, but they can still reply in the group. You can stop responding, mute the group for a while, or ask an admin to step in if the group's rules are being broken.

A scammer messaged me pretending to be from the group

Do not reply, do not click any links, and never share login codes, passwords or wallet details. Report and block the account, and let the real admins know their group is being targeted. Group Wall's guide to the most common scams describes the usual patterns.

I blocked someone by mistake

Unblock them from their profile or from Settings, Privacy and Security, Blocked Users. Nothing permanent happens from a short block, apart from messages they sent during that time not reaching you.

Frequently asked questions

If I block someone, can they still see my messages in the group?

Yes. Blocking affects private contact between the two of you. Anything you post in a group you share is still visible to every member, including the person you blocked.

Can I hide a blocked person's messages in a group?

Not reliably. Official Telegram apps generally keep showing group messages from people you have blocked, and there is no simple switch for it in every version. If their messages are breaking the group's rules, ask the admins to act, or mute or leave the group.

Does blocking someone remove them from the group?

No. Only group admins can remove or ban a member. Report the problem to an admin if you think the person should not be there.

Can a blocked person still mention me in a group?

Yes. They can reply to your messages and mention you with @ in a shared group, because that happens in the group rather than in a private chat.

Does the person get a notification when I block them?

No. Telegram does not tell them. They may notice signs, such as your last seen time appearing as "a long time ago" to them, but there is no notice.

Should I block or report?

Do both when someone is spamming, scamming or harassing. Blocking protects you; reporting lets Telegram act on the account and protects other people too. For problems inside a group, also tell the admins.