How to Stop Strangers Adding You to Telegram Groups

To stop strangers adding you to Telegram groups, open Settings, go to Privacy and Security, choose Groups & Channels, and change "Who can add me" from Everybody to My Contacts. After that, people who are not in your contacts can no longer add you directly; at most, they can send you an invite link that you are free to ignore. Then leave and report any spam groups you were already added to.

Below are the exact steps, the exceptions you can set, what the setting does and does not do, and how to deal with the groups already cluttering your chat list.

Why strangers add you to groups

If your Telegram account allows anyone to add you to groups, anyone who can find your account can drop you into a group without asking. Spammers use this to push people into groups promoting crypto "signals", fake jobs, giveaways and other schemes. Being in the group makes their messages appear in your chat list as if you had chosen to join.

There are a few ways they find you:

• Your username. If you have a public @username, anyone can look it up.
• Shared groups. In many public groups, members can see the member list and pick people from it.
• Your phone number. If your number is in someone's phone contacts, or if your privacy settings let people find you by number, your account may be reachable that way.

The fix is a privacy setting that has been in Telegram for years. It takes under a minute.

Change who can add you to groups

Menu names differ slightly between iPhone, Android and desktop, and between app versions, but the path is roughly the same everywhere.

On iPhone or Android

1. Open Telegram and go to Settings. On Android, tap the three-line menu first, then Settings.
2. Tap Privacy and Security.
3. Tap Groups & Channels. On some versions this may be labeled simply "Groups" or appear with wording about who can add you or invite you.
4. Under "Who can add me", choose My Contacts.
5. Go back. The change saves automatically.

On desktop

1. Open the menu and choose Settings.
2. Open Privacy and Security.
3. Find the groups setting (often "Groups & channels" or "Who can add me to group chats") and set it to My Contacts.

The options you see are usually Everybody and My Contacts. If your app offers anything stricter in current versions, you can pick it, but My Contacts is enough to stop strangers.

Use exceptions for people you trust

Below the main choice, Telegram lets you add exceptions. These are useful if "My Contacts" is a little too strict or a little too loose for you.

• Always allow: people who can add you to groups even if they are not in your contacts. Useful for a colleague, a club organizer or a teacher you have not saved as a contact.
• Never allow: people who cannot add you to groups even though they are in your contacts. Useful for a contact who keeps adding you to things you did not ask for.

You can add individual users and, in many versions, whole groups to the "Always allow" list, so members of a group you trust can add you to related chats. Check your exceptions every so often and remove anyone who no longer needs to be there.

What happens after you change the setting

Once you choose My Contacts, someone who is not in your contacts and not on your "Always allow" list can no longer add you to a group directly. In current versions, Telegram tells them they cannot add you and may offer them the option of sending you an invite link instead.

That means:

• You decide. If an invite link arrives in your messages, nothing happens unless you tap it and choose to join.
• Spam can still reach you as a message. A stranger may still be able to send you a private message containing a link. The setting controls who can add you to groups, not who can message you.
• It doesn't remove you from existing groups. Groups you were already added to stay in your chat list until you leave them.
• It covers channels as well as groups, which is why the menu is usually called "Groups & Channels".

Clean up the groups you were already added to

Changing the setting stops new additions. The groups already in your list need a quick cleanup.

Leave a group

1. Open the group.
2. Tap the group's name at the top to open its info page.
3. Tap the three-dot menu (or "More") and choose Leave group or Delete and leave.

On mobile you can often do the same from the chat list: long-press the chat (Android) or swipe left on it (iPhone), and choose the delete or leave option. On desktop, right-click the chat in the list.

Leaving a group removes you from it. Unless you rejoin, you will no longer receive its messages.

Use the "Report spam" bar

When someone who is not in your contacts adds you to a group, Telegram often shows a bar at the top of the chat with options such as Report spam and Leave (or "Delete and leave"). If you see it, that is the quickest route: one tap reports the group to Telegram and another removes you.

If the bar isn't there, use the full report option below.

Report the group

1. Open the group's info page.
2. Tap the three-dot menu and choose Report.
3. Pick the reason that fits best, usually Spam, or another option if the group is a scam, violent, or otherwise against the rules.
4. Add a short comment if the app offers a field, then send.

You can also long-press a specific message in the group and report that message. Reporting a group does not tell its admins who reported it.

Block the person who added you

If you can see who added you (often shown in the group as "X added you"), tap their name to open their profile, then use the three-dot menu to Block them, and Report them too if they are clearly a spammer. Blocking stops them messaging you; your groups setting already stops them adding you if they are not a contact.

Related settings worth checking

While you are in Privacy and Security, a few nearby settings make you harder to target in the first place.

Phone number

• Who can see my phone number: set this to Nobody or My Contacts so strangers in shared groups cannot see your number on your profile.
• Who can find me by my number: in current versions you can usually limit this to My Contacts, so people who have your number saved but are not your contacts on Telegram cannot use it to reach you.

Messages from strangers

Depending on your app version and account, Telegram may offer settings that limit who can start a new chat with you, or that automatically archive and mute new chats from people who are not in your contacts. If you see these options under Privacy and Security, they are worth considering if you get a lot of unwanted messages. Availability and wording have changed over time, so look rather than assume.

Profile photo and last seen

These do not affect who can add you, but limiting who can see your profile photo, bio and "last seen" time to your contacts makes your account less useful to someone harvesting accounts from member lists.

If someone keeps getting through

If unwanted groups still appear after you changed the setting, check these:

• The person is in your contacts. "My Contacts" means anyone saved in your Telegram contacts can still add you. Remove them as a contact or put them on the "Never allow" list.
• They are on your "Always allow" list, or are members of a group you allowed. Review your exceptions.
• You joined through a link. If you tapped an invite link and chose to join, that counts as joining, not being added. Leave and report as above.
• It's a direct message, not a group. If the spam arrives as a private message, block and report that account; the groups setting does not cover direct messages.
• Your account itself may be compromised. If groups appear that you did not join and nobody added you, check Devices in Settings for sessions you do not recognize, end them, and turn on Two-Step Verification.

Finding groups on your own terms

The point of this setting is not to avoid groups. It is to make sure every group in your list is one you chose. When you want to join something, look for it yourself: you can search for groups on Group Wall by topic, browse by category, and check a group's page before joining. Each page shows the member count, members online, rating, and how many people reported it as a scam in the last 30 days, which is a count rather than a verdict but useful context.

If a group you found here added people without asking or turned out to be spam, use the Report button on its page. For more on how listings work, see the FAQ.

Frequently asked questions

Can I stop absolutely everyone from adding me to groups?

The main options are usually Everybody and My Contacts. To block nearly everyone, choose My Contacts and add any contacts you do not want adding you to the "Never allow" list. If your app version offers a stricter option, you can use that instead.

Will people know I changed this setting?

Not directly. Someone who is not allowed to add you will simply be told they cannot add you, and in current versions may be offered the option of sending you an invite link instead.

Does leaving a group notify the other members?

In many groups, a service message such as "X left the group" may appear, depending on the group's size and settings. You do not need to explain anything, and leaving a spam group is always fine.

Will reporting a group tell the admins it was me?

No. Reports go to Telegram, and the group's admins are not told who reported them.

I set "My Contacts" but a stranger still added me. Why?

Check your exceptions: they may be on your "Always allow" list or in a group you allowed. Also check whether you tapped an invite link yourself, since joining through a link is not the same as being added. If neither applies, review your active sessions under Devices in case someone else has access to your account.

Does this setting stop spam messages too?

No. It only controls who can add you to groups and channels. For unwanted private messages, block and report the sender, and look under Privacy and Security for any options your app offers to limit or archive messages from non-contacts.