Content Policy

What this policy covers

This policy explains which Telegram channels and posts appear on OpenTG, what we do not allow, and how to ask us to remove something. It applies to every channel on OpenTG, whether we found it ourselves or its administrator added it through our bot.

What we index

• Public channels. We index channels whose posts anyone can read on Telegram without joining, and channels whose administrators add our bot, @opentg_collector_bot. We do not join private channels or groups. An administrator who adds our bot to a private channel agrees to its posts being published on OpenTG.
• Original posts only. Forwarded posts are not indexed.
• Text of at least 200 characters. Shorter posts, and posts that are only photos or videos, are not indexed.
• What we store. We store the text and formatting of each post, the channel's name, description and profile photo, and a preview image we generate for sharing. Photos and videos inside posts are loaded from Telegram's servers; we do not copy them.

Edits and deletions

• For channels connected through our bot, edits made on Telegram are copied to OpenTG automatically. For other channels, later edits may not appear.
• When a post is deleted on Telegram, it is not removed from OpenTG automatically. Ask us to remove it, as described below.

Content we do not allow

We do not add channels that mainly publish the following, and we remove posts and channels we find that contain or promote it:

• Sexual content involving minors. Removed immediately and reported to the relevant authorities.
• Adult content: pornography, sexually explicit material, and escort or sexual services.
• Gambling: casinos, betting, paid betting tips and unlicensed lotteries.
• Fraud and scams: fake investment schemes and "signals", pump-and-dump promotions, fake giveaways, phishing, and the sale of documents, personal data, or accounts the seller does not own.
• Piracy: copies of films, series, software, books or courses shared without the rights holder's permission, or links to them.
• Illegal goods and services: drugs, weapons, hacking services and stolen data.
• Terrorism and violent extremism: propaganda, recruitment and glorification.
• Hate and harassment: attacks on people for their ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or similar characteristics, publishing private information about people (doxxing), and intimate images shared without consent.
• Malware and spam.

Graphic content. News and documentation of war and other events can include violent images and are allowed. Graphic violence shown for its own sake, or to glorify violence, is not.

Text and links only. OpenTG hosts the text of posts. Photos and videos in posts are loaded from Telegram's servers, and we do not host files attached to posts. Links in posts are shown as their authors published them. Every link to another website opens a warning page first; you follow it at your own risk.

How we moderate

• At intake. Before we add a channel to OpenTG, we check that it meets our quality bar and this policy.
• After that, through reports. We do not review every post. A channel can change what it publishes after we add it, so we rely on reports from readers, rights holders and the people concerned to find channels that drift and posts that slip through.
• Every report is reviewed. If content we do not allow was made available by mistake, we remove it.
• Mixed channels. When a channel publishes legitimate posts alongside suspicious ones, we review it when someone reports it and decide whether to remove individual posts or the whole channel.
• If a channel mostly or repeatedly posts content we do not allow, we remove the whole channel. Otherwise we remove the individual posts.
• A removed post or channel answers "not found" on OpenTG and disappears from search, sitemaps and the API. We do not collect a removed channel again.
• Removal on OpenTG does not affect the content on Telegram. To report it to Telegram as well, use Telegram's own reporting tools.
• The live lookup in our API shows what Telegram currently shows for a channel, without review. It refuses channels we have removed, and our Terms forbid using it to collect prohibited content.

How to ask us to remove something

Anyone can ask us to remove a post or channel: its administrator, a person it is about, a rights holder, or anyone who thinks it breaks this policy.

Email support@opentg.ai, or use our contact form, with the subject "Removal request", and include:

• the link(s) on opentg.ai;
• who you are and how the content concerns you;
• why it should be removed.

For a copyright complaint, also identify the work, confirm that you own it or act for the owner, and state that you believe in good faith that the use is not authorised and that your notice is accurate.

A channel administrator can have their whole channel removed. We may ask you to prove you administer it, for example by posting a short code in the channel.

We acknowledge requests within 5 business days and decide within 14 days. We act on clearly illegal content, such as sexual content involving minors, as soon as we see it.

If you disagree with our decision, reply to our email and we will review it again.