Telegram is slowly becoming one of the most popular messaging platforms and had a significant growth ever since the WhatsApp privacy debacle. Let’s try to understand Telegram usernames and what they call t.me.
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You can set up a public username on Telegram. It then becomes possible for other users to find you by that username — you will appear in contacts search under ‘global results’. Please note that people who find you will be able to send you messages, even if they don’t know your number. If you are not comfortable with this, we advise against setting up one.
You can set up a username in Settings and use the universal search box in the chat list to search for chats, messages, and usernames.
What is t.me?
Once you’ve set up a username, you can give people a t.me/username link. Opening that link on their phone will automatically fire up their Telegram app and open a chat with you. You can share username links with friends, write them on business cards or put them up on your website.
This way people can contact you on Telegram without knowing your phone number.
A username can be any letter and value from a-z, 0-9, and underscores. Usernames are case-insensitive, but Telegram will store your capitalization preferences (e.g. Telegram and TeleGram is the same user). The username must be at least five characters long.
You don’t have to get a username. Remember that Telegram usernames are public and choosing a username on Telegram makes it possible for people to find you in global search and send you messages even if they don’t have your number. If you are not comfortable with this, we advise against setting up a username.
If someone finds you by username, messages and you reply they will not know your number. Neither party will see another’s phone number (unless this is permitted by your privacy settings). This is similar to the case when you message a person who you’ve met in a Telegram group.
To delete your username, go to Settings and save an empty username. This will remove your username; people will no longer be able to find you via search. This will not affect existing conversations.
What do I do your username is taken
Telegram usernames are distributed on a first come — first serve basis. The company understands that certain usernames are part of an online identity for some of us. If your desired username is already taken, they can help you acquire it for your account or channel, provided that you have that same username on at least two of these services: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
Due to the fact that one account can register multiple bot and channel usernames, Telegram reserves the right to recall usernames assigned to unused bots and channels, as well as openly squatted usernames.
