How to Find a Telegram ID: User ID, Chat ID and Channel ID

Telegram gives every account, bot, group and channel a numeric ID when it's created. Nobody chooses it and nobody can change it, so it's the surest way to recognize an account, and it's what bots and the Telegram API ask for. @doublegram_lookup_bot gives you any ID Telegram makes visible.

What a Telegram ID is

• User ID: a positive number, like 123456789, for people and bots.
• Group chat ID: a negative number. Basic groups look like -123456789; supergroups start with -100, like -1001234567890.
• Channel chat ID: a negative number starting with -100.

A username can change or disappear; the ID stays, so if someone changes username, their ID still tells you it's them. Two accounts can have almost the same name, but never the same ID. The one exception: when a basic group becomes a supergroup, Telegram gives it a new ID starting with -100.

How to find your Telegram user ID

1. Open @doublegram_lookup_bot and send /start.
2. Tap 👤 My data.
3. Tap the ID to copy it.

You need a free Doublegram account. It doesn't count as a search.

How to find someone else's Telegram ID

• From their username: send it to Lookup. The ID is the first line of the result. See Telegram username search.
• From one of their messages: forward it to Lookup. It works even if they have no username. See Find a Telegram user without a username.
• In your group: reply to their message with /lookup. See Lookup in your groups.

How to get a group or channel chat ID

The chat ID bots and the Telegram API ask for is the full number, with -100 at the start. Lookup gives it to you without adding any bot to the group:

• Public group or channel: send its @username or t.me link.
• Private channel: forward one of its posts to Lookup.
• Private group: an invite link isn't enough, because Telegram doesn't share the ID that way. See Lookup private Telegram groups and channels.

From an ID back to the account

You can also go the other way: send an ID and Lookup tells you whose it is. Telegram often doesn't allow it from the ID alone, especially for people. See Search by numeric ID.