How to prevent Telegram API flooding errors when sending bulk messages

Other Questions API
1

I keep running into flood protection errors when trying to send messages through Telegram’s API. I’ve tried everything I could find online, including setting wait times up to 3 minutes between messages, but I still get blocked after just 5 contacts.

import asyncio
from telethon import TelegramClient
from telethon.errors import FloodWaitError
import json
import time

WAIT_DELAY = 180  # 3 minutes

async def bulk_messenger():
    # Load credentials
    with open('settings.json', 'r') as config_file:
        credentials = json.load(config_file)
    
    app_id = credentials['app_id']
    app_hash = credentials['app_hash']
    phone_number = credentials['phone']
    
    async with TelegramClient('session_name', app_id, app_hash) as client:
        # Read contact list
        contact_list = []
        with open('contacts.json', 'r') as contacts_file:
            contact_data = json.load(contacts_file)
            
        message_text = input('Enter message to send: ')
        
        for contact in contact_data:
            try:
                print(f'Messaging: {contact["display_name"]}')
                await client.send_message(contact['user_id'], message_text)
                print(f'Waiting {WAIT_DELAY} seconds...')
                await asyncio.sleep(WAIT_DELAY)
                
            except FloodWaitError as flood_err:
                print(f'Hit rate limit. Need to wait {flood_err.seconds} seconds')
                break
            except Exception as error:
                print(f'Error occurred: {error}')
                continue
                
        print('Bulk messaging completed')

if __name__ == '__main__':
    asyncio.run(bulk_messenger())

Any ideas what I’m doing wrong? Are there better alternatives for sending individual messages to multiple Telegram users without getting rate limited so quickly?

2

The problem’s probably that you’re treating all messages the same when Telegram has different limits based on who you’re messaging. Messages to people who haven’t added you as a contact get way stricter limits than mutual contacts. Your 3-minute delay is overkill - I usually do 1-2 seconds between messages and only bump it up when I actually hit a FloodWaitError. Also check if your account’s new or has a low trust score since Telegram restricts newer accounts more. Try exponential backoff instead of fixed delays, and make sure you’re handling FloodWaitError correctly by actually waiting the time it specifies instead of just breaking the loop. Some people say warming up the session with manual activity before bulk operations helps too.

3

You’re probably hitting Telegram’s daily message limits, not just rate limits. Business accounts get higher thresholds, so upgrade if you’re doing legit bulk messaging. Check if you’re messaging people who blocked you or deactivated - those still count against your limits. I had the same problem until I filtered my contacts to only active mutual ones first. Spreading messages across multiple sessions during the day works way better than blasting them all at once. The API docs say different message types have different limits too - plain text works better than media or formatted stuff for bulk sends.

4

You’re getting blocked because Telegram flags this as spam. Even with delays, sending the same message to multiple people trips their filters fast. Mix up your message content for each contact and randomize your delays between 30-120 seconds instead of using fixed timing.