Telegram is a great instant messaging app. It has practically everything, and if something is missing, it is usually added in future updates. However, everything good has its drawbacks. And it is that we are more and more in Telegram and this increases the sending of messages and unwanted Telegram invitations. But spam on Telegram can be combated if you know-how.

Thanks to the features of Telegram, we can tweak some elements of your settings so that you stop receiving messages and invitations that you have not requested. From now on, you will only receive messages from whoever you want and you will only enter the channels or groups that you choose. No more surprise invites.

Limit Telegram invitations

By default, in Telegram, anyone can invite you to a new conversation or group. So far so good. But as often happens, there are those who use this feature to indiscriminately invite contacts to groups that you didn’t know about and that, in many cases, don’t interest you. This is partly because Telegram groups can have up to 200,000 members.

The solution is simple. Prevent anyone from inviting you. Instead, you will only be invited to channels, groups, and conversations by your contacts, that is, by Telegram users who are in your contact list. A fast and effective way to combat Telegram spam with a simple change.

To make this change, we open Telegram. Then we will go to Settings> Privacy and security> Groups and channels. There you will find the option Who can add me. By default, Everyone appears, but we want to change it to My contacts.

Limit who can see your phone number

The second aspect of Telegram that can lead someone to spam you indiscriminately: is the ability to see your phone number. Information that appears on your profile if someone decides to enter. Fortunately, we can limit that exposure to certain users.

From Telegram, we go to Settings> Privacy and security. There is a list of elements that we can show or hide. The one we are interested in is the Phone Number. Upon entering, you will see the option Who can see my number. You can choose from three options: everyone, your contacts, or no one. Depending on the level of privacy you want to implement, choose your contacts or nobody. You will prevent strangers from seeing your number and adding it to spam lists on Telegram or outside this instant messaging network.

Block annoying users and bots

Another way to avoid being bothered with Telegram spam is to prevent those who carry out these practices from contacting you. Or put bluntly: block spammers. It is easy, fast, and painless and you will avoid discomfort. Also, you can revert the change whenever you want.

Let’s say someone opens a conversation with you and sends you links or unwanted content that we could consider spam on Telegram. You can just walk out of the conversation, but if that person continues to bother you, you can block them.

To block someone on Telegram you have to enter their profile by clicking on their username. Among the available options, click on the More icon and you will see more options. The one we are interested in is Block user. Once locked, you won’t see their messages. If you want to unblock someone or see who you have blocked, you’ll see the list in Settings > Privacy and security > Blocked users. In the list itself, you can unlock or add more locks.

This option also works for bots. Although there are very practical ones to obtain information or automate certain tasks, there are also bots that contact other users without their permission. So if you are not interested in a certain bot, you can stop it or directly block it.

Report annoying or spam channels

If you’ve been invited to a channel or group that you believe is spreading spam and inviting users without their permission, you can report it. That is, in addition to leaving said channel or group, you can inform Telegram of its activity. That’s what the Report button is for. When you are in a group or channel, if you click on the More button you will see all the options related to the channel. Among them is the Report button. If Telegram receives multiple complaints from the same channel or group, it is likely to be closed or blocked.