I’m building a Telegram bot that works in group chats. The idea is simple - users post questions in the group and the bot responds to them privately. I extract the user ID using message.from.id when someone sends a command.
However, I keep running into this error:
Forbidden: bot can't initiate conversation with a user
I understand this is probably an anti-spam feature. The weird thing is that the bot can send me private messages just fine, but it fails with other users.
What’s the proper way to handle this? How do I get users to allow private messages from my bot? Is there a specific flow or command they need to use first before the bot can message them directly?
You’ve hit Telegram’s built-in spam protection - bots can’t message users privately unless they start the chat first. There’s no way around this with code. Set up an onboarding flow instead. When users join your group or run a command, have the bot inform them about enabling private notifications. Provide a deep link like https://t.me/yourbotname?start=parameter to facilitate starting a private chat. Once they click it and message your bot, you can DM them. If you encounter a ‘forbidden’ error, remind users in the group that they need to message the bot privately first. Additionally, keep track of users who have enabled private messaging in your database to avoid unnecessary follow-ups.
this is basic telegram security. tell group members to hit /start on your bot b4 asking questions that need private replies. I pin a msg explaining this - otherwise the bot becomes useless when half the ppl can’t get DMs.
You can’t bypass this - it’s built into Telegram’s design for good reason. The fix isn’t technical, it’s getting users to cooperate. I’ve run several group bots and here’s what actually works: When someone asks a question that needs a private reply, my bot immediately responds in the group saying “I need to message you privately - click this link to start our chat.” Then I store their pending response in a database with a timestamp. When they finally message the bot privately, it automatically sends their queued answer. Works every time and doesn’t fight Telegram’s anti-spam rules. The trick is being upfront about needing private messages instead of just failing silently.