How to Join a Telegram Group: Public Links, Invites and Join Requests

Joining a Telegram group takes one of three routes: you tap Join on a public group, you open a private invite link someone shared, or you send a join request that an admin has to approve. Which one applies depends on how the group's admins set it up, not on you. This guide covers each route step by step, explains what you will see on iPhone, Android and desktop, and walks through what to do when a join does not work.

Before you start: the three ways into a group

Every Telegram group is either public or private, and admins can add an approval step on top of either.

• Public groups have a public username, so they have a permanent link of the form t.me/groupname. Anyone can find them in search, open them and usually read along before joining.
• Private groups have no public username. The only ways in are an invite link that an admin or member shares with you, or being added directly by someone already in the group.
• Groups with join requests require an admin to approve each new member. Instead of a Join button, you see a button to request to join, and you get in only once someone accepts.

The wording on buttons differs slightly between the iPhone app, the Android app, Telegram Desktop and the web versions, and it changes from time to time as Telegram updates its apps. The steps below describe what the buttons do, so you can match them to whatever your app calls them.

Joining a public group

Public groups are the simplest case.

From Telegram search

1. Tap the search bar at the top of your chat list.
2. Type the group's name or its username.
3. Look in the global results section below your own chats and tap the group.
4. The group opens and, in most cases, shows its recent messages. You are not a member yet.
5. Tap Join (or Join Group) at the bottom of the screen.

That is it. The group now appears in your chat list and you can post, subject to whatever permissions the admins have set for new members.

Search only shows a handful of results and works best when you already know roughly what the group is called. If you are exploring a topic rather than looking for a specific group, a directory is usually more useful; on Group Wall you can search groups by keyword or browse by category.

Read before you tap Join

Being able to read a public group before joining is one of the most useful things about Telegram. Take a minute to scroll through the recent conversation and check the pinned message. You will learn whether the group is active, whether it is on topic, and what the rules are, all before you are a member. It costs nothing, and it saves you from joining and immediately leaving.

Joining a private group with an invite link

Private group links look different from public ones. Instead of a readable name, they contain a random string, usually in the form t.me/+ followed by letters and numbers. Older links in the form t.me/joinchat/ followed by a string still work too.

1. Tap the invite link.
2. Telegram shows a preview: typically the group's name, picture and member count, and sometimes a few members you already know. You cannot read the conversation yet.
3. Tap Join Group (or similar).

Once you join, you see the group's chat. Whether you can read older messages depends on a setting the admins choose: some private groups show their full history to new members, others hide everything sent before you arrived.

Because a private invite link is the only way in, it is worth knowing where yours came from. A link from a friend, a teacher or the official website of a project is one thing. A link that appeared in a random comment promising exclusive access is another. The link format itself tells you nothing about whether the group is trustworthy. For more on how these links work, including why some stop working, see our guide to Telegram group invite links.

Joining a group that requires approval

Admins can set an invite link, or a public group itself in current versions of Telegram, so that new members must be approved. This is a common way to keep out spam accounts and bots.

What you will see

When you open such a group or link, instead of a plain Join button you will see something like Request to Join. Some apps also show a short note that an admin must approve your request.

1. Tap Request to Join.
2. Telegram confirms that your request was sent.
3. Wait. Admins see a list of pending requests and approve or decline them.

What happens next

• If you are approved, Telegram notifies you and the group appears in your chat list.
• If you are declined, you will not be added. Telegram may not send you an explicit "declined" message, so the absence of an approval is often the only sign.
• If nothing happens, the admins may simply not have looked at the queue yet. Some groups process requests quickly, others only every few days.

Messages from the group's admins

In some groups, an admin or a bot set up by the group may send you a message while your request is pending, for example asking a simple question to check that you are a real person, or asking you to agree to the rules. This is a legitimate feature. But keep the usual safety rules in mind: a real admin has no reason to ask for your login code, your password, a seed phrase, a payment, or for you to log in somewhere outside Telegram. If a "verification" message asks for any of those, it is a scam, regardless of whose name is on it.

Getting added directly

Someone who is already in a group can sometimes add you without a link, by choosing you from their contacts. Whether they can do this depends on your privacy settings.

In Telegram's settings, under Privacy and Security, there is an option controlling who can add you to groups and channels. You can allow everybody, only your contacts, or nobody, and add exceptions in both directions. If you set it to contacts only, a stranger who tries to add you will not be able to; at most, they can send you an invite link instead.

Restricting this setting is a good idea for most people. It stops spammers from dropping you into groups you never asked to join, while friends can still add you.

Your first minutes in a new group

Once you are in, a few steps make life easier:

1. Read the pinned message. It is shown at the top of the chat. Many groups pin their rules or a "start here" note there.
2. Look out for a welcome message. Some groups use a bot to greet new members, explain rules or ask you to tap a button to prove you are human. Until you do, you may not be able to post.
3. Check your permissions. Some groups do not let new members send links, media or stickers for a while, or have slow mode switched on, which limits how often you can post. If your message will not send, this is usually why.
4. Decide on notifications. If the group is busy, mute it from the group's info page or the three-dot menu. You can mute for a set time or indefinitely.
5. Introduce yourself only if that is the custom. Some groups like introductions; in others they are noise. The recent conversation tells you which.

When joining does not work

Most join problems have a simple cause. Here is what the common messages and situations usually mean.

The link says it has expired or is invalid

Private invite links can be created with an expiry date or a limit on how many people can use them, and admins can revoke a link at any time. If you see a message that the link has expired or is no longer valid, the link itself is dead. The fix is to ask whoever gave it to you for a fresh one. There is nothing you can change in your own settings to make an expired link work.

The group is full

A Telegram group can hold up to 200,000 members. Very few groups get anywhere near that, but if one does, new people cannot join until others leave.

You were removed or banned before

If an admin removed and banned you, you will not be able to rejoin through a normal link. Only an admin can lift the ban. If you think it was a mistake, contact the group's admins through another channel, such as the project's website, rather than creating new accounts to get back in.

You joined too many groups recently

Telegram has limits on how many groups and channels an account can be in, and anti-spam measures that can temporarily restrict accounts that join or message a lot of groups in a short time. If you see a message saying you are in too many chats, leaving some you no longer use will free up room. If you see a message about your account being limited, Telegram's own support information explains how to check the status of your account.

The group opens but you cannot send messages

You are in, but the admins have restricted what members can do. Some groups are read-only for everyone except admins, which makes them work almost like a channel. Others restrict new members for a while. Check the pinned message and the group description for instructions, or wait.

Nothing happens when you tap the link

If you tapped a t.me link and nothing opened, make sure Telegram is installed and up to date. On a computer, the browser should offer to open Telegram Desktop; if you do not use the desktop app, you can open the link in Telegram's web version instead. Copying the link and pasting it into any Telegram chat (your Saved Messages works well), then tapping it there, also usually works.

Leaving a group

Joining is easy to undo. Open the group, go to its info page or the three-dot menu, and choose Leave Group (on some versions the option is Delete and Leave). You stop receiving messages immediately. You can rejoin a public group at any time; for a private group you will need a valid invite link again.

If you are leaving because the group is spam or a scam, report it first using Telegram's report option, then leave.

Joining safely: a short checklist

• Open the group and read before joining, where Telegram allows it.
• Get links for official project groups from the project's own website.
• Treat anyone who messages you first after you join as unverified, especially if they claim to be an admin or support.
• Never share login codes, passwords, seed phrases or private keys, and never pay to "unlock" a group someone DMs you about.
• Keep "who can add me to groups" set to something sensible.
• Use Telegram's report and block options when something is wrong.

If you are looking for active groups to try, Group Wall's most active groups right now list is ordered by members online, which is a quick way to see where conversation is happening. Telegram's own FAQ has more detail on groups, privacy and account security.

Frequently asked questions

Do the other members see my phone number when I join?

Not unless your privacy settings allow it. Group members see your name, profile picture and username if you have one. Whether they can see your phone number is controlled by the phone number privacy setting under Privacy and Security in Telegram's settings.

Will the admins be notified that I joined?

Telegram shows a short service message in many groups when someone joins, so admins and members can see it. Some admins hide these messages to keep the chat tidy. Either way, you appear in the member list.

Can I join a group without anyone knowing?

You can read many public groups without joining, and nobody sees that you are looking. Once you join, you appear in the member list like everyone else, although in large groups admins can choose to hide the member list from ordinary members.

How long does a join request take?

It depends entirely on the admins. Some approve requests within minutes, others check the queue occasionally. If nothing has happened after several days, the request may simply not have been reviewed, and there is no way to speed it up from your side.

Can I cancel a join request?

In current versions, opening the group or link again usually shows that your request is pending, and some apps offer a way to cancel it. If yours does not, the request will simply stay pending until an admin acts on it.

Why did an invite link work for my friend but not for me?

Invite links can have a usage limit or an expiry time. Your friend may have joined before the limit was reached or before it expired. Ask an admin or member for a new link.