A Telegram restriction always looks the same: messages to strangers stop arriving, while the account itself keeps working - chats open, conversations with existing contacts go on. That is exactly why people notice it late, when the campaign has already spent a week sending into the void.
What a ban actually is
Strictly speaking a "ban" in Telegram is three different things, and confusing them is expensive.
| What happens | How it looks | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Spam block on messages to strangers | Conversations with contacts work, messages to new people never arrive | From a few hours to several weeks |
| Restriction on creating channels and groups | Public entities cannot be created | Usually together with the spam block |
| Full account block | The number is detached, you cannot log in | Permanent, lifted only through support |
The first one is the most common, and the most treacherous: the interface says nothing, the error arrives at the API level (PEER_FLOOD), and the operator simply sees "no replies".
There is also a fourth state, a frozen account: read-only mode with an appeal deadline and deletion at the end. It works differently from all three, so it has its own guide: Telegram account frozen.
In its terms of service Telegram states the rule in one line: you may not "use our service to send spam or scam users", and failure to comply "may result in a temporary or a permanent ban from Telegram or some of its services". There are no numeric limits there and there never were.
Why accounts get banned
Volume itself is not the trigger. The trigger is how people on the other side react.
- Complaints. The main signal. In the practice of outreach tools and communities, 3-5 taps on "Spam" from unknown recipients are enough for an account to lose the right to message people first. Telegram publishes no official number, so treat this as a benchmark, not a constant.
- Speed. Dozens of messages in a row with no pauses is behaviour no human reproduces. A 40-90 second pause between touches is cheaper than a new account.
- A fresh account with no history. An account registered yesterday and pushed straight into sending has nothing to outweigh the first complaint.
- The same copy for the whole database. Identical messages from different accounts collapse into one template, and a complaint about one hits all of them.
- A shared IP for the whole pool. When ten accounts go through one address they stop being independent: restrictions arrive in batches.
How to tell that a restriction is already there
- Message @SpamBot from the account. It is Telegram's official bot and it tells you whether there are restrictions and when they will be lifted. What each reply means is in the @SpamBot guide.
- Watch the share of delivered messages: if replies stopped abruptly rather than gradually, it is almost always a block, not bad copy.
- Check sending errors:
PEER_FLOODmeans exactly a restriction on messaging strangers.
What to do when it has landed
- Stop sending from that account. Every further message extends the term.
- Write to @SpamBot. If the restriction was automatic, a correct request sometimes lifts it early. Arguing and writing ten times is pointless.
- Wait. Automatic restrictions usually lift on their own in 7-30 days.
- Move the touches to a backup account, so that leads in the middle of a sequence do not hang without a reply. This is the one part worth automating: almost nobody manages to move unfinished conversations by hand in time.
- Do not put the account straight back on full volume. After a block is lifted it goes through warm-up again, otherwise the second block arrives faster than the first.
What if the phone number itself is banned?
This is the third row of the table above, and it is a different problem from a spam block. On login the app shows "This phone number is banned", and the API returns PHONE_NUMBER_BANNED. @SpamBot is no use here: you cannot message it from an account you cannot log in to.
- Use the Help button under the error. In the official Android app it opens a ready-made email to
recover@telegram.orgwith the subject "Banned phone number" and your number filled in. On other devices you can write to the same address yourself. Describe plainly how the number was used, send it once and wait. Telegram publishes no response time, and nothing guarantees the outcome. - Check where the number came from. Telegram's spam FAQ admits that some numbers "may trigger an overly harsh response from our system, either due to their previous owners' activities or due to them being certain virtual/VOIP numbers". The FAQ says this about limits on brand-new accounts, but it is the clearest official hint about why a number can be in trouble before its owner has sent anything.
- Do not request the login code again and again. Repeated attempts end in
PHONE_NUMBER_FLOOD, which adds a second problem on top of the first.
For outreach the practical conclusion is to plan as if a banned number will not come back: keep a reserve in the pool, and keep conversations in a shared inbox and CRM rather than inside one account that may not be there tomorrow.
How not to get there
The rules are simple; the problem is that they have to be followed every day, not once.
| What to do | Practical benchmark |
|---|---|
| Warm up a new account | 3 weeks: no sending at all in the first days, then the limit grows in steps |
| Keep a daily limit | Start at 10-20 touches, raise it gradually |
| Use pauses | 40-90 seconds between messages, not a fixed interval |
| Split accounts across proxies | One account - one proxy with a stable geolocation |
| Rotate the wording | Several copy variants per campaign |
| Clean the database | Deduplication and a suppression list across the whole team, so nobody is messaged twice |
| Check restrictions | Regular @SpamBot polling, not a manual check once a week |
How this works in Meliora
The logic is simple: the account should stop before the ban, not after.
- Risk Score 0-100 is computed from behaviour: complaints, sending speed, share of rejections, SpamBot signals. Under 30 the account works, 30-60 sends it back to warm-up, above that it stops.
- Three-stage warm-up instead of "switch it on and go": no sending in the first days, then the limit rises in steps. By our data this extends account life by 60-80% compared with sending without warm-up.
- Proxy 1:1 - every account gets its own address and a stable geolocation.
- Scheduled SpamBot checks, not whenever someone remembers.
- Touches move to a backup: if an account is stopped, the lead is not left without a reply in the middle of a sequence.
Frequently asked questions
How many messages a day is safe from one account?
There is no universal number: the limit is dynamic and depends on the account's age, its history and the share of complaints. A practical benchmark is to start at 10-20 touches a day on a new account and only reach 200-300 after three weeks of warm-up.
Does Telegram Premium protect against blocks?
No. Premium extends product limits such as upload size and the number of folders, but it does not affect anti-spam: a restriction comes from complaints, not from your subscription type.
Does buying aged accounts help?
Partly, and not for long. An aged account has history, so the first complaint weighs less, but the rules are the same: without warm-up and limits it burns out just as fast, only a week later. Plus there is the risk that the account was already used for outreach before you.
How long does a spam block last?
Automatic restrictions usually lift in 7-30 days. A message to @SpamBot sometimes shortens that, but there is no guarantee. Permanent blocks do not lift on their own.
Is outreach in Telegram legal?
Messaging a stranger does not by itself break the rules; spam does - irrelevant mass sending that makes people complain. The practical difference between outreach and spam is measured by the share of complaints, not by the number of messages.