«Write in Telegram!» — surely, you have often said this phrase yourself or heard it. But finding the right person on Telegram quickly is not always easy. We share five ways to search for people on Telegram that will take no more than two minutes, and also explain why sometimes it is impossible to do so.

According to the operator Yota, Telegram became the most sought-after online application in Russia in 2024. The company reported that in the first quarter of 2024, subscribers most often connected unlimited internet specifically for this messenger. It's no surprise since Telegram users can easily connect and communicate with each other and share various files. It's quite simple to find the right person on Telegram — in most cases.

Searching for a user on Telegram by username or nickname

Searching for people on Telegram by nickname or username is quite simple and allows you to find a user if you do not have their phone number. Go to Telegram settings, under your avatar thumbnail, you'll see the name and surname, or the channel name — this is the nickname, and in the line below with the @ symbol is the username. In any user's profile, you can see their nickname on the photo, and below in the “Username” line — the username.

Search by nickname

A nickname on Telegram is the account name displayed under the photo and in chats. In personal profiles, it is usually the first name and last name, in public ones — the channel name. A nickname can consist of one or two words and contain any letters and numbers.

To search by nickname, enter the person's first and last name in the upper search line of the messenger with the magnifying glass icon. You can enter it in Latin or Cyrillic letters. Telegram will display accounts with the same nicknames, and by looking at the avatars, you can find the contact you need. Despite being one of the simplest search methods, it has several nuances:

• the person may specify fake first and last names;
• the list of contacts with namesakes issued by such a search may be huge.

Search by username

A username is a unique public name that Telegram asks you to come up with during registration. Essentially, it is the profile id. A username can only consist of Latin letters and numbers, and an @ symbol is automatically placed before it. It is not possible to hide a username in Telegram — everyone can see it. A username is usually different from a nickname.

If you know the exact username of a person, finding them is easy. In the application, click on the search bar and enter the user's username. Entering the @ symbol is not necessary. If the username is correct, the needed person will be found with 100% probability.

Searching for a Telegram user by phone number

Searching for a user in Telegram by phone number is the most reliable and fast way. Add the phone number to your phone contacts, and if the person is on the messenger, it will be displayed in the contact information.

Another option — go to the app in the “Contacts” section, click “Search,” enter the recorded name, and you will see the added contact.

You can find a person by phone number without saving it in contacts. This is possible on both a smartphone and a computer. For this:

1. Go to the “Contacts” tab in the messenger and click “Add contact.”
2. Enter the name and phone number of the person and click OK.
3. If they are using Telegram, a chat window will appear with them.
4. If the user is not yet registered on Telegram, you will see a message about it. The messenger will offer to invite the contact by sending them an SMS with a link to download the app.

Searching for a person on Telegram by geolocation

Telegram offers many interesting features. One of them is “People Nearby.” If you have just moved, using this feature, you can find not only a neighbor but also a local Telegram channel: for example, house or city chats, or a group based on your interests nearby. This option can also be useful if, for example, you want to get the Telegram contact of someone nearby without knowing their phone numbers. Imagine you are riding the metro, and a pretty girl sits across from you, whom you would like to meet. You can try finding her contact in Telegram using the “Find People Nearby” feature.

On an iPhone, to find a user nearby, go to the “Contacts” section in the messenger, and tap the geolocation icon “Find People Nearby” above it. On Android phones, this feature is located in the main menu — “People Nearby.” The application will immediately show a list of nearby users.

Using the nearby people search feature, you will see all users who have it enabled within a radius of up to 3 kilometers from you. If you want people nearby to find you too, activate this feature on yourself by enabling “Show Me Here.”

Searching for people on Telegram using bots

There are many Telegram bots for searching information about a person. Don’t forget about security and confidentiality and use only trusted and popular bots to avoid fraud. We suggest reviewing a few of them:

@search4facesBot — a free service for finding people on the Internet by photo. It's easy to use: upload a photo and wait 15 seconds. The bot will find profiles on the VKontakte social network with similar people, among which might be the person you are interested in.

@LeakOSINT0Bot has extensive functionality, including searching by full name, phone number, Telegram ID, email, VKontakte. The bot is paid but offers a free seven-day trial period.

Easy Osint will find information about the person you need by full name, social networks, photo. Search queries can also be performed using voice commands. The subscription is paid and allows up to 100 search queries per day.

Why it is not possible to find a user on Telegram

Sometimes it is impossible to find a person on Telegram. Let's consider why this happens:

• The person does not have a registered account.
• The phone number or username is entered incorrectly. Check the correctness of the mobile number input, as well as the username.
• The person has changed privacy settings. Telegram values privacy, so an account can be set up in such a way that it is very difficult to find you. For example, you can hide your phone number or nickname.
• The user has changed their username. If the person was not added to your contact list or was added without a phone number, and you do not have any conversation with them left, after changing their username, you will not be able to find them anymore.
• Blacklist. If a person has blocked you, you will not be able to find or contact them.

How to find a deleted contact in Telegram

There are various reasons why you might accidentally delete a needed contact: from simple confusion to pressing an extra button. You can try to restore a deleted contact in the following ways:

1. Searching the chat and call history. Try finding calls or messages with the deleted contact in the chat and call list.
2. Searching by name. Enter the name of the person you need in the search bar if you have recently looked it up. Telegram will show the last 10 queries.
3. Searching the address book. Check the contacts in your phone, maybe you have the number of the deleted contact saved, and you can add it again.

How to hide yourself as much as possible from search on Telegram

Confidentiality is probably one of Telegram's main features. If for some reason you want your profile to be anonymous and not appear in the messenger’s search system, perform the following actions:

• Hide the phone number. Open privacy settings, and select the desired phone number visibility there. Note: people who have your number saved will still see it.
• Remove the nickname. Go to the “My Profile” section and clear the nickname field there.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to find a person on Telegram, you can easily reconnect with old friends, colleagues, acquaintances, or make new connections. Try it out and see how quick and easy it is!