Keep group chats tidy with bot replies only you can see
What it is
Since July 2026 bots in groups can send ephemeral messages: replies only one person sees, such as a greeting, a private AI summary, an error, a confirmation or a menu with buttons. It works both ways: an ephemeral command you send a bot is hidden from other members and other bots. Your question and the bot's answer no longer clutter the chat for everyone else.
How to do it
- In a group, open the bot menu. Commands marked with a special icon are ephemeral.
- Send one: your command and the bot's reply are visible only to you and the bot.
- Building a bot? Mark the command as ephemeral (is_ephemeral in BotCommand) and… Building a bot? Mark the command as ephemeral (is_ephemeral in BotCommand) and reply with ephemeral_message_parameters, naming the person.
- A bot that isn't an admin has 15 seconds after the person's ephemeral command… A bot that isn't an admin has 15 seconds after the person's ephemeral command or button tap; an admin bot can send an ephemeral message to any member at any time.
- When someone taps a button, the bot can show its answer in place of that message, for that person only.
Watch out
- Ephemeral messages may disappear after a while or when the app restarts: don't put anything there a person must keep.
- Delivery isn't guaranteed, especially if the person is offline.
- Only commands with the icon stay hidden; a regular command is seen by the whole group.
With Gem
Gem doesn't send replies only one person can see. It keeps your project's groups tidy its own way: it removes «joined» lines, keeps the rules pinned, stays silent when it doesn't know an answer, and you choose for each group whether it answers, answers only when mentioned, or is off.
Sources
- https://telegram.org/blog/communities-editor-invisible-messages
- https://core.telegram.org/bots/features
- https://core.telegram.org/bots/api