# Telegram Profile API (https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/telegram/profile)

> Returns a public Telegram channel or group profile including its display name, description, avatar URL, verification status, and subscriber count. The subscriber count is exact rather than abbreviated. Private channels, invite-only groups, and channels with no public preview return 404.

TL;DR: `GET /v1/telegram/profile` costs 1 credit per call and returns SocialCrawl's unified JSON schema. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `handle` | yes | Public Telegram handle, with or without the leading @, or a t.me channel URL |

## Code example

```bash
curl "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/telegram/profile?handle=telegram" \
  -H "x-api-key: sc_YOUR_API_KEY"
```

## FAQ

### What does the Telegram channel endpoint return?

The channel's display name, description, avatar URL, verified badge, and subscriber count, plus counters for how many photos, videos, files, and links the channel has posted.

### Is the subscriber count exact or rounded?

Exact. The channel profile is the one Telegram surface that publishes the full figure, so a 10,921,304-subscriber channel returns 10921304 rather than a rounded ten million. That makes it usable for day-over-day growth tracking.

### Does it work for groups as well as broadcast channels?

Yes, for public groups that expose a public preview page. Broadcast channels report a subscriber count and groups report a member count; both land on the same normalized follower field.

### What happens if the channel does not exist?

You get a clear not-found response rather than an empty object, and the call is not billed. That means a typo in a handle never quietly looks like a channel with no data.

### Can I read private or invite-only channels?

No. Only channels with a public preview page are readable. Invite links and folder links are rejected before the call is made, so you are never charged for a lookup that could not have succeeded.

See the full Telegram API: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/telegram

## Pricing

- Standard endpoints: 1 credit per call
- Advanced endpoints: 5 credits per call
- Premium endpoints: 10 credits per call
- 100 free credits on signup, no credit card required. Cached responses cost 0 credits. Credit packs never expire.
- Full pricing: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/pricing

## Explore with AI

Questions this API answers, phrased for an AI assistant:

- How do I get a Telegram channel's subscriber count?
- Which API returns Telegram channel profile data without a bot token?