How to get user location in a Telegram bot?

Other Questions Telegram bot
1

Hey everyone, I’m working on a Telegram bot and I’m curious if there’s any way to automatically determine a user’s location as they message the bot without asking them for it. I’ve been unable to find a clear solution and wonder if there’s an undocumented API or secret method to fetch this data directly. For example, consider this simple code snippet:

from telegram.ext import Updater, CommandHandler

def locate_user(update, context):
    # Attempt to retrieve user location
    user = update.effective_user
    context.bot.send_message(chat_id=update.effective_chat.id, text=f'Hi {user.first_name}! Can you share your whereabouts?')

def run_bot():
    updater = Updater('YOUR_BOT_TOKEN', use_context=True)
    dp = updater.dispatcher
    dp.add_handler(CommandHandler('start', locate_user))
    updater.start_polling()
    updater.idle()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    run_bot()

Any advice or alternative approaches would be greatly appreciated!

2

I’ve been down this road before, mate. Getting a user’s location without explicitly asking is tricky territory. From my experience, the most reliable method is using Telegram’s built-in location request feature. It’s straightforward and respects user privacy. You can add a custom keyboard with a ‘Share Location’ button. When users tap it, they get a prompt to share their exact location. It’s way more user-friendly than trying to guess based on IP or other sneaky methods.

Here’s a snippet I’ve used before:

from telegram import KeyboardButton, ReplyKeyboardMarkup

def request_location(update, context):
    location_keyboard = KeyboardButton(text="Share Location", request_location=True)
    custom_keyboard = [[location_keyboard]]
    reply_markup = ReplyKeyboardMarkup(custom_keyboard)
    context.bot.send_message(chat_id=update.effective_chat.id, 
                             text="Mind sharing your location?", 
                             reply_markup=reply_markup)

This approach is transparent and gives users control. Just remember to handle the location data responsibly if they do share it.

3

hey mate, u cant really get the location without askin. but u could try usin IP geolocation services. they give u a rough idea based on the users IP. not super accurate but might work. or u could use telegrams location request feature. adds a button for users to share location easily. just remember to be upfront about it, dont wanna freak ppl out with privacy stuff ya know?

4

While it’s not possible to automatically get a user’s exact location without their consent, there are a few workarounds you could consider. One approach is to use IP geolocation services. These can give you a rough estimate of the user’s location based on their IP address. It’s not 100% accurate, but it might be good enough depending on your needs. Another option is to implement Telegram’s built-in location request feature. This adds a button to your bot’s interface that prompts the user to share their location. It’s more user-friendly than asking them to type it out. Keep in mind that any location tracking should be done transparently and with user permission to avoid privacy concerns.