Bellingcat's Online Investigation Toolkit

TelegramDB

TelegramDB is a searchable database service that allows users to explore public Telegram groups and channels via a dedicated bot.

Last updated 9 days ago

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TelegramDB

TelegramDB is a searchable database service that allows users to explore public Telegram groups and channels via a dedicated bot.

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Description

TelegramDB is a Telegram search engine you reach through the bot @tgdb_bot or the companion site. It indexes every public group, channel and bot it can find – more than 30 million chats and 11 billion membership records as of January 2025 (). The bot lets you:

Look up public chats by keyword, name or username.
Check a user’s public footprint (/where) and see which groups they’ve joined.
Export data (CSV) such as full member lists, overlapping users or “near” users for network analysis tools.
See live stats on the TelegramDB index (/stats).

Usage has grown fast – TelegramDB passed 1.5 million monthly active users in April 2025 (). &#xNAN;Notable 2024-25 updates: a redesigned menu (/search), searches that can now return up to 1 000 results instead of 20, a contact-picker for user-centric commands, and a new website where you can manage your account and buy credits.

Commands

The TelegramDB bot (@tgdb_bot) offers a comprehensive set of commands to help users navigate and utilize Telegram data efficiently. Below is a detailed description of these commands and their functionalities:

Full Command Overview

Free Commands

/search – Opens an interactive menu to search by title, user, group, channel, or bot. (The legacy keyword search functionality is now under /title)
/title [name] – Search for public groups and channels by title or keyword (text-based search).
/info [id or @username] – Show basic profile information for a given user, group, or channel. (With premium credits, this includes historical details and alerts like scam/fake account flags.)
/resolve [id or @username] – Convert a user, group, or channel ID to its username (and vice versa) and display additional information such as past usernames, Telegram Premium status, verification badge, or scam flags.
/group [name] / /channel [name] – Find public groups or channels by name. (Free mode returns limited results.)
/bot [name] – Search for public bot accounts by name.
/add [id or @username] – Add a user, group, or channel to TelegramDB’s index (useful for newly created or previously unindexed entities).
/help, /faq, /terms, /support, /language – Access help and info: usage instructions, FAQs, terms and conditions, a link to the support chat, and language settings (English, Italian, etc.).
/stats – Show live database statistics (total chats, groups, users, bots, etc.) indexed by TelegramDB.
/cancel – Cancel the current operation or menu.

Premium Commands (Credits Required)

/where [id or @username] – Reveal the public groups in which a user has been a member. (Requires credits for a full list; without credits it will only report the count of groups, up to 5 uses per day.)
/members [id or @username] – Retrieve a CSV list of members of a specified group, including hidden or historical members (useful for archival member lists).
/network [chat] – Identify related chats (groups, channels, or forums) that share a significant number of members with the target, returned as a CSV ranked by overlap relevance.
/near [id or @username] – Find “nearest” users to a given user based on shared group memberships, outputting a CSV of users who have the most groups in common (with usernames and overlap counts).
/credits – Check your credit balance and purchase additional credits through the bot’s payment interface.

Cost

TelegramDB uses a credit-based model for advanced searches and data extraction:

Free: Basic searches (returns ~20 results max) and limited info queries are free. This includes commands like /search//title for keywords and basic /info lookups.
Paid: Expanded searches and premium data commands (e.g. /where, /members, /network, /near) require spending credits. These allow larger result sets and detailed data exports beyond the free limits.

Pricing: TelegramDB uses credits. The first 20 results of every search are free; anything further or any premium command consumes credits.

Each command tells you how many credits it will cost before it runs. Example: /where costs 3 credits plus 1 credit for every 40 results, while /members uses a sliding scale.

Free

Basic keyword searches (/search, /title)

Limited results (up to ~20)
Basic info from /info

Paid

Premium commands: /where, /members, /network, /near
Larger result sets (beyond the free limit)
Historical data, CSV exports, user overlap analytics

Specific pricing for premium credits is not provided directly but operates on a credit-based payment system, including support for cryptocurrencies. (If you have used the pay functionality or know more, please do let me know)

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Beginner: Basic searches are straightforward via simple commands.
Intermediate to Advanced: Premium features (CSV exports, group network mapping) can be used for deeper OSINT investigations or data analytics.

Requirements

Credits: Needed for premium features (purchased in-bot)
Data Analysis Skills: Helpful for interpreting CSV files, especially if you plan to load them into visualization tools (e.g., Maltego).

Limitations

Public Content Only: TelegramDB only indexes data from public or open Telegram chats. Private, invite-only, or deleted chats are not accessible via this tool. (All data is obtained by crawling public groups/channels visible to anyone, and TelegramDB is not affiliated with Telegram itself.
Unfiltered Data: TelegramDB does not moderate or filter collected content, so search results may include pornography, hate speech, graphic violence, or other illegal or offensive material on Telegram. Users should exercise caution; content takedown requests can be made to remove personal data (see /terms).
API Constraints: The service relies on Telegram’s infrastructure (APIs and network). Data may be subject to Telegram’s rate limits or outages, and information might not instantly reflect edits or deletions. For example, if a user leaves a group or a message is removed, it may still appear in TelegramDB’s cache until the next update or a removal request.
Search Costs: Extensive querying can become costly in credits. High-volume searches or bulk member exports may consume credits quickly, which can be a practical limitation for some users (though result previews and incremental costs are provided).
Data Accuracy: Information retrieved might not reflect very recent changes on Telegram. There can be lag in indexing new groups or updating member lists, and some data (like historical usernames or group membership) may be incomplete if the crawler didn’t capture it in time. Always double-check critical information on Telegram itself if possible.

Terms & Conditions (Key Points Summary)

Age Requirement: You must be at least 18 years old (or the legal age in your jurisdiction) to use TelegramDB services and the @tgdb_bot.
User Obligations: Users must not use automated scripts or bots to scrape TelegramDB’s data without permission. All usage must comply with applicable laws – you may not use TelegramDB to harass, stalk, or inflict harm on others or for any unlawful purposes.
Prohibited Activities: Unauthorized mass collection or resale of TelegramDB’s data is forbidden, as is any attempt to commercially exploit the service’s data or to post abusive content via the bot. Attempts to circumvent the bot’s security or access controls are strictly prohibited.
Governing Law & Disputes: Use of TelegramDB is governed by the laws of Italy. In the event of disputes, the Terms specify resolution via arbitration in Milan, Italy, conducted in English (unless otherwise required by law).
Account Termination: TelegramDB reserves the right to suspend or terminate your access for violations of the Terms of Use. If an account is terminated, creating substitute accounts to bypass the ban is not allowed without explicit permission.

(Refer to the full Terms of Service via the /terms command in the bot for complete details. TelegramDB’s policies also outline GDPR compliance – personal data removal requests can be sent to the admins if content has been removed from Telegram but remains on TelegramDB

Ethical Considerations

Data Privacy: Even though TelegramDB only uses publicly available data, be mindful of privacy implications. Avoid using the tool to expose private individuals unnecessarily, and remember that public membership in a group does not always imply endorsement.
Compliance: Ensure your use of TelegramDB aligns with data protection laws (e.g. GDPR) and ethical OSINT guidelines. If you retrieve personal data (like lists of users), handle it responsibly and respect any deletion requests.
Content Verification: Results from TelegramDB might include misinformation, extremist propaganda, or spam accounts. Always verify content and identities through additional sources. Treat data as leads or clues rather than absolute facts until confirmed.
Responsible Usage: Use TelegramDB in the spirit of research and investigation. Do not misuse the data for doxxing, harassment, or other unethical behavior. You are accountable for how you leverage information from the tool – always consider the potential impact on individuals’ privacy and safety.

Guide

Tool provider

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Page maintainer

Martin Sona

Last updated 9 days ago

Was this helpful?

URL

Description

Look up public chats by keyword, name or username.
Check a user’s public footprint (/where) and see which groups they’ve joined.
Export data (CSV) such as full member lists, overlapping users or “near” users for network analysis tools.
See live stats on the TelegramDB index (/stats).

Commands

Full Command Overview

Free Commands

/search – Opens an interactive menu to search by title, user, group, channel, or bot. (The legacy keyword search functionality is now under /title)
/title [name] – Search for public groups and channels by title or keyword (text-based search).
/info [id or @username] – Show basic profile information for a given user, group, or channel. (With premium credits, this includes historical details and alerts like scam/fake account flags.)
/resolve [id or @username] – Convert a user, group, or channel ID to its username (and vice versa) and display additional information such as past usernames, Telegram Premium status, verification badge, or scam flags.
/group [name] / /channel [name] – Find public groups or channels by name. (Free mode returns limited results.)
/bot [name] – Search for public bot accounts by name.
/add [id or @username] – Add a user, group, or channel to TelegramDB’s index (useful for newly created or previously unindexed entities).
/help, /faq, /terms, /support, /language – Access help and info: usage instructions, FAQs, terms and conditions, a link to the support chat, and language settings (English, Italian, etc.).
/stats – Show live database statistics (total chats, groups, users, bots, etc.) indexed by TelegramDB.
/cancel – Cancel the current operation or menu.

Premium Commands (Credits Required)

/where [id or @username] – Reveal the public groups in which a user has been a member. (Requires credits for a full list; without credits it will only report the count of groups, up to 5 uses per day.)
/members [id or @username] – Retrieve a CSV list of members of a specified group, including hidden or historical members (useful for archival member lists).
/network [chat] – Identify related chats (groups, channels, or forums) that share a significant number of members with the target, returned as a CSV ranked by overlap relevance.
/near [id or @username] – Find “nearest” users to a given user based on shared group memberships, outputting a CSV of users who have the most groups in common (with usernames and overlap counts).
/credits – Check your credit balance and purchase additional credits through the bot’s payment interface.

Cost

TelegramDB uses a credit-based model for advanced searches and data extraction:

Free: Basic searches (returns ~20 results max) and limited info queries are free. This includes commands like /search//title for keywords and basic /info lookups.
Paid: Expanded searches and premium data commands (e.g. /where, /members, /network, /near) require spending credits. These allow larger result sets and detailed data exports beyond the free limits.

Pricing: TelegramDB uses credits. The first 20 results of every search are free; anything further or any premium command consumes credits.

Inside the bot: Since April 2025, you can only buy credits with Telegram Stars due to Telegram and Apple rules (). The bot shows the exact price before you confirm. &#xNAN;On the website: At () you can register and pay with cryptocurrency, credit/debit card or PayPal . Prices fluctuate, but typical bundles remain in the €2 – €10 range.

Each command tells you how many credits it will cost before it runs. Example: /where costs 3 credits plus 1 credit for every 40 results, while /members uses a sliding scale.

Free

Basic keyword searches (/search, /title)

Limited results (up to ~20)
Basic info from /info

Paid

Premium commands: /where, /members, /network, /near
Larger result sets (beyond the free limit)
Historical data, CSV exports, user overlap analytics

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Beginner: Basic searches are straightforward via simple commands.
Intermediate to Advanced: Premium features (CSV exports, group network mapping) can be used for deeper OSINT investigations or data analytics.

Requirements

Telegram Account: You must have Telegram to interact with the bot .
Credits: Needed for premium features (purchased in-bot)
Data Analysis Skills: Helpful for interpreting CSV files, especially if you plan to load them into visualization tools (e.g., Maltego).

Limitations

Public Content Only: TelegramDB only indexes data from public or open Telegram chats. Private, invite-only, or deleted chats are not accessible via this tool. (All data is obtained by crawling public groups/channels visible to anyone, and TelegramDB is not affiliated with Telegram itself.
Unfiltered Data: TelegramDB does not moderate or filter collected content, so search results may include pornography, hate speech, graphic violence, or other illegal or offensive material on Telegram. Users should exercise caution; content takedown requests can be made to remove personal data (see /terms).
API Constraints: The service relies on Telegram’s infrastructure (APIs and network). Data may be subject to Telegram’s rate limits or outages, and information might not instantly reflect edits or deletions. For example, if a user leaves a group or a message is removed, it may still appear in TelegramDB’s cache until the next update or a removal request.
Search Costs: Extensive querying can become costly in credits. High-volume searches or bulk member exports may consume credits quickly, which can be a practical limitation for some users (though result previews and incremental costs are provided).
Data Accuracy: Information retrieved might not reflect very recent changes on Telegram. There can be lag in indexing new groups or updating member lists, and some data (like historical usernames or group membership) may be incomplete if the crawler didn’t capture it in time. Always double-check critical information on Telegram itself if possible.

Terms & Conditions (Key Points Summary)

Age Requirement: You must be at least 18 years old (or the legal age in your jurisdiction) to use TelegramDB services and the @tgdb_bot.
User Obligations: Users must not use automated scripts or bots to scrape TelegramDB’s data without permission. All usage must comply with applicable laws – you may not use TelegramDB to harass, stalk, or inflict harm on others or for any unlawful purposes.
Prohibited Activities: Unauthorized mass collection or resale of TelegramDB’s data is forbidden, as is any attempt to commercially exploit the service’s data or to post abusive content via the bot. Attempts to circumvent the bot’s security or access controls are strictly prohibited.
Governing Law & Disputes: Use of TelegramDB is governed by the laws of Italy. In the event of disputes, the Terms specify resolution via arbitration in Milan, Italy, conducted in English (unless otherwise required by law).
Account Termination: TelegramDB reserves the right to suspend or terminate your access for violations of the Terms of Use. If an account is terminated, creating substitute accounts to bypass the ban is not allowed without explicit permission.

Ethical Considerations

Data Privacy: Even though TelegramDB only uses publicly available data, be mindful of privacy implications. Avoid using the tool to expose private individuals unnecessarily, and remember that public membership in a group does not always imply endorsement.
Compliance: Ensure your use of TelegramDB aligns with data protection laws (e.g. GDPR) and ethical OSINT guidelines. If you retrieve personal data (like lists of users), handle it responsibly and respect any deletion requests.
Content Verification: Results from TelegramDB might include misinformation, extremist propaganda, or spam accounts. Always verify content and identities through additional sources. Treat data as leads or clues rather than absolute facts until confirmed.
Responsible Usage: Use TelegramDB in the spirit of research and investigation. Do not misuse the data for doxxing, harassment, or other unethical behavior. You are accountable for how you leverage information from the tool – always consider the potential impact on individuals’ privacy and safety.

Guide

TelegramDB. (2024). TelegramDB/TelegramDB [Computer software]. (Original work published 2022)

Tool provider

maintains the service and its infrastructure (the developers have not publicly disclosed organizational details). The service operates.

But they're listening to the community:

Advertising Trackers

This tool has not yet been checked for advertising trackers.
This tool uses tracking cookies. Use with caution.
This tool does not appear to use tracking cookies.

Page maintainer

Martin Sona