Stop the 'Joined Telegram' Notice Going to Your Contacts

Where the notice comes from

When you sign up, people who have your phone number saved in their contacts can get a notification such as "Alex joined Telegram!". Telegram Desktop shows the same event to its users as "Contact joined Telegram".

The notice is triggered on their side, not yours. If someone saved your number and let Telegram sync their contacts, their app is told that a number in their contacts now has an account. That is why it can reach people you have not spoken to in years: an old colleague, a landlord, a delivery driver.

What you can control: what they see next

You cannot stop people learning that your number has an account, but you can decide what they find when they tap on it. Set these straight after signing up:

People who already had your number saved see the name they gave you, not yours, and they know your number anyway. These settings matter most for everyone else you meet later in groups. Whether people can see your number explains who sees what.

If you do not want your own contacts on Telegram's servers, turn off contact sync and delete synced contacts. That protects the people in your phone; it does not hide you. See deleting uploaded contacts and stopping sync.

Stop these notices on your own phone

If it is the other way round and you are tired of hearing every time someone you know joins, switch the alert off in your own notification settings:

On Android the menu item is called Notifications and opens a screen titled Notifications and Sounds. The switch is in the Events section, about two-thirds of the way down.

On iPhone the switch is called New Contacts, described as receiving notifications "when one of your contacts becomes available on Telegram." This only silences the alert. People who join still appear in your Contacts list as Telegram users.

If the notice already went out

• Someone you would rather not hear from got it: you do not have to reply. If they message you, you can block them without explanation. See the Blocked Users list.
• You want a fresh start away from old contacts: the notice is tied to the number. A different number gives a different set of people, but think about the trade-offs in virtual and foreign numbers first.
• A stranger says "I saw you joined Telegram": treat it with care. A sign-up notice is a common opening line for scams that move on to investments or "verification" codes.

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