Telegram compares favorably with many messengers in that it allows you to write first, using 3 ways to do this:

1. By @username - the username displayed in the profile. Always displayed.
2. By user ID - a digital code assigned by the Telegram system. Not displayed publicly.
3. By Phone Number - the number that each user has. May be hidden by Privacy Settings. If the number is hidden, then it will be extremely difficult to find such a user by his phone number without knowing his @username.

What is a hidden number?

Telegram account privacy settings allow you to make a phone number invisible to search, so a user with such settings can only write to @username or if the user adds you to his contacts.

In total, there are 3 types of phone number availability in the Telegram Privacy Settings:

• «My contacts» - a check mark next to this item is for all users by default and means that the user's phone number is available only to those whom the user has added to his contacts;

• «All» - a tick opposite this item means that the user's phone number is open and you can write to him first;

• «Nobody» - a checkmark next to this item means that the phone number is hidden and it is impossible to write to the user by number.

What if the phone number is hidden?

The best option in this case is to use the user's @username. Unlike a phone number, @username cannot be hidden and is always available.

In other cases, it is better to focus on the possible user privacy settings:

• If a user has set the «Nobody» setting in the Privacy settings of his phone number in Telegram, then it is impossible to start a dialogue with this user by phone number without his @username.
• If the «My Contacts» setting is set in the privacy settings, then you can start a dialogue with the user by Phone Number only if you are added to the contacts of this user. Otherwise, @username should be used. This is the most common User Privacy Settings option.
• If the «All» setting is set in the privacy settings, then you can write to this user both by @username and by phone number without any restrictions.

How to check the ability to start a conversation by phone number?

• Phone number verification in ChatApp WEB:

Add a new contact in web chat.

Personal account → Open chat → Telegram Personal → "+" (Add contact) → Phone number → Continue

If the user's phone number is hidden or you are not added to this user's contacts, the number is not registered in Telegram, or the limit for creating contacts has been exceeded, a notification about this will be shown.

• Checking a phone number in Bitrix24:

Go to Open lines on the Bitrix24 portal and check the contacts of the client or the Lead.

Bitrix24 → CRM → Clients or Leads → ChatApp tab

The contact card will display the phone number and the availability of instant messengers.

If the Telegram icon is highlighted in color, then this user can be written by phone number.

If the icon is greyed out, the user's phone number is hidden.

• Checking a phone number in Kommo:

Go to the Kommo portal and check the contacts in the deal.

AmoCRM → Deals → Deal selection → General

The transaction card will contain a contact phone number and instant messengers for communication.

If the Telegram icon is highlighted in color, then the user can write to Telegram by phone number.

If the icon is greyed out, the user's phone number is hidden.

Restriction for adding new Telegram contacts

Telegram allows you to add no more than 15 new contacts per day.

This limit does not apply if:

• You already had a conversation with this contact in Telegram. In this case, each new message is a continuation of the old dialogue.
• You use contact synchronization with a CRM system.