Report Hate on Telegram: Channels, Groups, Police

For many people, Telegram is just an ordinary messenger. But in public channels and large groups there is also hate, threats and the spreading of private data. If you want to report hate on Telegram, you quickly hit limits. This guide shows what reporting can achieve, how to secure evidence and why the police are often the more important route when crimes are involved.

What is public on Telegram and what is private?

This is the key question, because it decides what a report can achieve:

• Private chats: between two people. Regular chats are stored in Telegram’s cloud. “Secret chats” are end-to-end encrypted and stored only on the devices involved.
• Groups: private, meaning by invitation only, or public with their own @name that anyone can find through search.
• Channels: one person or a small team broadcasts to many subscribers. Channels can also be public or private.

Telegram offers a report function in all its apps. Only for copyright complaints does Telegram state that it does not process requests about private chats and groups. How it handles other reports from private chats is not disclosed. Reports about public channels, groups and bots have the best chance.

How do you secure evidence on Telegram?

Save right away. In one-on-one chats, either side can delete messages for both people at any time, including messages you received. Channels and groups can vanish overnight.

• Screenshots showing the channel or group name, sender, message, date and time.
• Link to the message: in public channels and groups, you can copy a link through a message’s menu. It starts with t.me/ and leads straight to the post.
• Username: the @name of the person, channel or group. Display names can be changed at any time.
• Channel info: name, @address, description and number of subscribers. The reach can matter later, for example in cases of incitement to hatred.
• Chat export: on a computer, the Telegram desktop app can export chat histories. Untick the options for saving photos and videos.

Never save nude images or sexual content, especially of minors, as a screenshot or file. You could commit an offence yourself (§§ 184b, 184c of the German Criminal Code, StGB). Instead, note the link, the channel, date and time, and describe what was shown. More tips are in our guide to securing evidence.

How do you report hate on Telegram?

• In the app: press and hold a message, or right-click it, and look for “Report”. You report a channel or group through its profile and the three-dot menu. Choose the fitting reason.
• By email: Telegram’s FAQ names abuse@telegram.org for reports. Include the t.me links to the content.
• EU form under the DSA: for users in the EU, Telegram has its own page with guidance on the Digital Services Act and a form for illegal content. You have to give your name, contact details and an explanation of why the content is illegal. Telegram names the bot @EURegulation as its point of contact.

Menu items and forms may change. Note the date and time of your report.

What are the limits of reporting?

• Private chats and groups: Only for copyright complaints does Telegram state that it does not process requests about private chats and groups. How it handles other reports from private chats is not disclosed.
• New channels: when a channel is blocked, a new one under a similar name often appears quickly.
• No guaranteed response: many people get no reply to their reports.
• Supervision in Belgium: Telegram says it is not a very large online platform, because it has fewer than 45 million users in the EU. Under the DSA, the Belgian authority is responsible for supervising it, because Telegram has its legal representative there.

For public content, the basic DSA rules still apply: platforms must handle reports of illegal content carefully and tell you their decision (Art. 16 DSA). There must be an internal complaint against a rejection (Art. 20 DSA). Telegram’s DSA page does not clearly describe how it offers this complaint to people who reported content. If Telegram does not respond, you can complain to Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur). It forwards the complaint to the responsible authority. How that works is explained in Platform Not Responding to Your Report? DSA Complaints.

When should you go to the police about hate on Telegram?

Because reporting to Telegram often achieves little, a criminal complaint (Anzeige) is the more important route when crimes are involved. Whatever is a criminal offence in Germany is also one on Telegram. Examples:

• Incitement to hatred (Volksverhetzung, § 130 StGB): stirring up hatred against groups because of origin, religion or other characteristics. More in Incitement to Hatred Online: What Is a Criminal Offence.
• Threats (§ 241 StGB).
• Dangerous dissemination of personal data (§ 126a StGB): if your address or phone number is spread in a way meant to put you in danger.
• Public incitement to commit crimes (§ 111 StGB).
• Symbols of unconstitutional organisations (§ 86a StGB).
• Insult (§ 185 StGB): here you generally need to file a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) within three months.
• Stalking (Nachstellung, § 238 StGB): prosecuted ex officio, meaning even without a request for prosecution.

You can file a criminal complaint (Anzeige) at any police station or online through the online police station (Onlinewache) of your federal state. Include the t.me links, @names, date, time and screenshots.

Can the police find out who is behind it? Telegram’s privacy policy says that if it receives a valid order from the competent judicial authorities, it may disclose the IP address and phone number after its own review. Whether and when that happens in a specific case, nobody can predict. Other traces often help too, for example if the same person is active on other platforms. More in Who Is Behind the Account?.

You can also pass on hate through reporting organisations such as HateAid or the REspect! reporting point. Both are approved by the Bundesnetzagentur as trusted flaggers (as of October 2026).

In acute danger? If your address is being spread and someone threatens to come round, call 110, the police emergency number in Germany.

How can you protect yourself on Telegram?

• Hide your phone number: in the privacy settings you can decide who sees your number and who can find you by it.
• Groups and calls: decide who can add you to groups and who can call you.
• Leave groups where hate is spread, once you have saved what concerns you.
• Do not argue: replying in hate channels rarely helps you and makes you more visible.

Hate is draining, even if you only read it. The Telefonseelsorge crisis line is available around the clock on 0800 111 0 111 (in German). For young people there is the Nummer gegen Kummer helpline on 116 111 (Monday to Saturday, 2 to 8 pm, in German).

Frequently asked questions

Is Telegram a law-free zone?

No. German criminal law also applies to content on Telegram. What is often difficult is identifying the person behind it.

Is a criminal complaint (Anzeige) worth it if I only know the @name?

Yes, it can make sense. The more unique details you have, such as t.me links, @names and times, the better. There is no guarantee that the person will be identified.

Can I report private groups?

Yes, through the report function. But Telegram does not disclose how it handles such reports. For crimes, the police are the better route here.

Do I have to monitor hate channels to collect evidence?

No. Save what concerns you. You can leave the ongoing monitoring of hate channels to reporting organisations and the authorities.

You can also report it through our form. If you say yes, your report goes automatically to a suitable cooperating law firm (Kooperationskanzlei) as soon as one is available. The legal assessment comes from the law firm, not from us. If there is no suitable firm right now, you get an email with other places to turn to straight away. Deadlines keep running: you can always file a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) with the police yourself.