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Choosing a mode is like picking a badge-wearing agent (bot) or your own voice (account): the bot is the recommended path; a personal account is an exception with more responsibility.

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Bot or personal account?

Each Telegram instance on Notifique uses one of two modes. You cannot switch on the same line, if you need to change, create a new one.

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When to use a bot

  • Support, OTP, confirmations, and explicit automation
  • Flows aligned with the documented Bot API
  • You want customers to talk to @mybot, not a person

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When to use a personal account

  • A bot does not fit the use case (legacy flow, acting as a person in a specific chat)
  • You accept terms (acceptUserTerms: true) and the risk of ToS violations if you abuse it
Automating a user account for spam or mass DMs violates Telegram Terms and can get the account banned. Prefer a bot whenever possible.

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Golden bot rule: the user speaks first

On the Bot API, Telegram blocks cold DMs from the bot to users who never interacted.
  1. The recipient opens the bot and sends /start (or taps Start).
  2. Notifique records the chat (webhook + GET /v1/telegram/chats list).
  3. Then you send with chatId or @username in to.
Sending before that may fail with invalid chat or block errors, expected Telegram behavior.
Groups and channels have different rules (bot may need to be admin or member). For 1-to-1 DM, treat /start as part of your product onboarding.

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Bot mode in detail

How to connect
  1. Create the bot in @BotFather and copy the token.
  2. POST /v1/telegram/instances with mode: "BOT" and botToken.
  3. Notifique validates the token and configures the bot webhook.
  4. Status ACTIVE, you can send (to users who already started a chat).
What bots do well
  • Predictable inbound (telegram.received)
  • Chat list (GET /v1/telegram/chats)
  • Location sends (type: location)
  • Clear identity for end users
Limitations
  • Cannot cold-start a chat without /start
  • Features limited to Bot API surface
  • Not your personal account

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Personal account mode in detail

How to connect
  1. POST /v1/telegram/instances with mode: "USER" and acceptUserTerms: true.
  2. The response includes the QR in connection (like unofficial WhatsApp), show base64 or open loginUrl.
  3. Optional: generateShareableLink: true on create, or POST .../connect-page/enable later, to share hostedUrl with someone else.
  4. QR expired? GET /v1/telegram/instances/:id/qr or webhook telegram.instance.qrcode.
  5. Alternative: POST .../session with sessionString (useful with 2FA).
  6. Retrieve or invalidate the link: GET/POST .../connect-page (status, enable, rotate-secret, disable).
Integrating API-only (no browser on your server)? Use generateShareableLink: true on POST /v1/telegram/instances or enable later with POST .../connect-page/enable. Details in Quick Start.
Cautions
  • 2FA password login via QR may not work, use manual session.
  • 409 when requesting QR: another login flow already open (e.g. dashboard SSE).
  • While PENDING, sending does not work.
A personal account is like lending your identity to the system. Use only when a bot does not fit.

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Full comparison

* More freedom does not replace opt-in and ToS.

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Webhooks by mode

List and payloads: Webhook events.

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Next steps