If you message a bot privately
The operator receives the messages and files you send to that bot, along with public profile information. Opening an ordinary bot chat does not let it browse your other conversations. A forwarded voice note or uploaded PDF is something you have deliberately shared with it.
For example, a request to rewrite “The delivery will arrive at 3 pm” does not need your customer's full address. Leave out details that do not help the task.
If the bot is in a group
Look at the bot in the group's member list to check its privacy setting. With privacy mode enabled, it receives selected interactions, including commands addressed to it and replies meant for it. A bot added as an administrator, or one with privacy mode disabled, has broader access to group messages.
This explains a common surprise: a bot may answer its own command but ignore ordinary conversation. Check the bot's instructions before giving it more permissions.
If you tag a guest bot or connect an assistant
These are different permissions:
- A guest bot mentioned in a chat: for bots supporting Guest Mode, Telegram says access is limited to the tagged message and replies to it, rather than the surrounding chat or its member list.
- A bot connected to your profile: Chat Automation can let a bot act in the chats you assign. Read that selection before connecting it. Review the connection in Settings → Chat Automation; older Business interfaces may use different labels.
- An inline bot: a query typed after its username is sent to that bot. You do not have to send the query as a normal chat message first.
Starting a private conversation with a bot is not the same as approving account automation. Check which action you are taking.
Does a bot automatically get my phone number?
Telegram lists your public name, username and profile picture as data bots can receive. Your phone number is not automatically included in that list. Sharing a contact, typing the number or submitting it in a form is a separate disclosure.
Does deleting the chat delete my uploaded file everywhere?
It is not proof that the operator deleted a stored copy. Look for the service's retention and deletion policy, especially before uploading documents. An external website opened from a bot can also receive ordinary web data such as your IP address.
If you just want to try a PDF tool, use our fictional two-page worksheet before deciding whether the service belongs in your real workflow.
Where these access rules come from
- Telegram's bot data policy.
- Group privacy mode.
- Guest bots and Chat Automation, introduced May 7, 2026.
These describe Telegram's access rules. They do not establish how a particular operator stores your data.
