Telemetry
An analytical search tool for Telegram groups and channels.
URL
Description
According to its website Telemetry has data from more than 1m+ Telegram channels and 2.5b+ messages, and supports boolean search queries that return results from public Telegram messages, groups, and channels, allowing for analysis of group and individual activity on the platform.
The platform can be used to identify in which groups certain topics or terminology are being discussed or to search for conversations taking place in certain groups or channels.
For example, searching for "climate" in "Messages" returned results of public Telegram messages using the term, and provided information on each message's view count, reply count, and an option to dive into channel analytics
Searching the same query within "Channels" provides a list of possible channels utilising the terminology.
The platform also offers analytics pages for a given group or channel, allowing access to metadata and analytics about the group or channel, such as the total engagement, number of subscribers/members, mentioned groups and channels, a filtered view of post types, and more.
It also offers an API to search, monitor and utilize Telegram data at scale.
Cost
Telemetry allows 5 free searches per day (providing up to 25 results each) per account.
Beyond the free version, Basic ($29 USD), Pro ($99 USD), and Enterprise (bespoke) plans are available for varying monthly prices, and include additional capabilities such as more search credits, longer data lookbacks in searches, data export options, and more.
Additional detail about the API access is available here.
Level of difficulty
Requirements
Account creation (requiring an email address) is necessary to use the free search, and an understanding of basic boolean strings is recommended to use the tool most successfully.
Limitations
The free version only provide 25 search results.
Each search costs one token. Note that if you search a query within "Messages" data, then switch to "Channels" data, the search will be effectively re-run, and this will use a total of two tokens.
Ethical Considerations
When using Telemetry for research purposes, it's imperative to consider the following ethical aspects:
Privacy and Consent: Although Telemetry provides public posts, researchers should be mindful of the privacy expectations of individuals who made those posts. Not all users understand or anticipate their contributions being analysed or quoted in research.
Bias and Representativeness: Acknowledge that the data collected from Telemetry may not be representative of broader populations or viewpoints. Research findings should be contextualised within the scope and limitations of the data source.
The Oxygen of Amplification: Think carefully about what you publish so as not to unwittingly amplify some of the messaging present on fringe platforms. (See The Oxygen of Amplification: Better Practices for Reporting on Extremists, Antagonists, and Manipulators Online by Whitney Phillips).
Telemetry's Privacy Policy can be found here.
Guides and articles
Tool provider
Telemetry Data Labs, based in Tel Aviv, Israel. The tool was co-founded by Ari Ben Am, author of the Memetic Warfare weekly newsletter (which occasionally features Telemetry's use in its investigations and analysis.)
Advertising Trackers
Bellingcat Volunteer Team
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