Telegram Account Limited? Spam Limits, PEER_FLOOD and @SpamBot Explained

· 3 min

Telegram account limited? What a restricted account can't do, how long it lasts, how to check with @SpamBot, and how teams avoid it. Based on Telegram docs.

"Message not sent", "You can only send messages to mutual contacts", or a PEER_FLOOD error from the API: these usually mean the account has been restricted for spam. This post explains how the restriction works and how teams can stay clear of it.

Why accounts get restricted

According to Telegram's spam FAQ, restrictions follow "Report spam" reports from users. What matters is whether recipients found your messages unwanted.

Typical situations that raise the risk:

  • Sending many first messages to strangers in a short time
  • Messaging people collected from groups without warning
  • Sending the same text from many accounts at the same moment
  • Links or ads in the very first message
  • Bulk sending from brand-new accounts with no history

What a limited account can do

A restricted account can usually:

  • message only people who have its number saved as a contact,
  • reply to people who wrote first,
  • but cannot start chats with new people or post in some groups.

The duration depends on the case. Repeated violations lead to longer limits, and the ability to message strangers can be lost permanently. Telegram does not lift a limit early.

Checking your status with @SpamBot

Start a chat with @SpamBot in Telegram and send /start. It tells you whether the account is limited and, if so, when the limit ends. If you believe the limit is a mistake, you can appeal there too.

PEER_FLOOD and FLOOD_WAIT

Both are error codes from the Telegram API:

  • PEER_FLOOD: the account has messaged too many new people; Telegram is blocking it from contacting strangers for a while. Stop sending as soon as you see it.
  • FLOOD_WAIT_X: an action was repeated too often; wait X seconds and it will work again.

Telegram does not publish the exact thresholds. Any source that claims "X messages a day is safe" is guessing.

Official bot limits

For bots, Telegram does publish limits: about 1 message per second to the same chat, at most 20 messages per minute to a group, and about 30 messages per second for broadcasts. That makes bots the more predictable choice for posting to channels.

A safety checklist for teams

  1. Message people who opted in. Send bulk messages only to people who contacted you or agreed to hear from you, and honour opt-outs.
  2. Set a daily cap per number, and stop the number for the day when it is reached.
  3. Add delays and variety with random waits and spintax variations.
  4. One IP per account. Running many numbers from one IP can make a complaint against one account cast suspicion on the others. See our guide to managing multiple accounts.
  5. Respect the error. When a number hits PEER_FLOOD, stop it. Do not move the same job to another number.