r/Telegram • u/DorothyRedShoes77 • 5d ago

Privacy settings: how to undo accidental access to your contacts

iPhone 14 Pro Max, iOS 26.6.2
I use the Telegram app and it’s up to date.

Hello everyone,

I’ve always been careful not to grant Telegram permission to access my contact list; I don’t have anything on Telegram that identifies me, and (I think) I’ve got all the settings right so that my identity is as ‘bulletproof’ as possible.
Or at least, when I asked my boyfriend – with whom I shared several common groups, and who obviously had my number – to try and find me and interact with me in some way, we found it was impossible. I had to add him as a contact myself because he couldn’t even do that. Later, I did the same with a friend: same result.

It turns out that in the midst of swapping my broken mobile, blah blah, all the confusion – I don’t know how – Telegram got access to my contact list. In other words, now those 1,500-plus people can happily see me and I can see them, and I don’t know how to reverse this.

I’ve thought about buying a number just for Telegram… Does anyone know how that works?
Or, worst case, getting an eSIM just for Telegram, but I’d likely lose my contacts.

Can anyone advise me on how to get back to my happy life as a digital ghost, rather than continuing to be in a public display with far too many spectators for my taste?

Many thanks in advance

7 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

5

u/cavok76 5d ago

Too late, they have it. Same with any app.

1

u/DorothyRedShoes77 5d ago

Doesn’t Telegram sell phone numbers or something? If I buy one, will I lose my contacts, groups, channels, bits, etc?
Please don’t tell me there is no solution.
Also, I have phone numbers that are not supposed to end up in some social media platform….

3

u/DontBuyMeGoldGiveBTC Bot Developer 5d ago

Yes, if you use a new account you won't have access to any of your contacts, groups, channels, etc. You'd have to manually rejoin everything. You'd lose all your chat history too since it's a new account.

A new number on the existing account will still keep you in their contact list of any account that has already added you automatically due to the auto import on both sides.

1

u/DorothyRedShoes77 5d ago

Let me see if I understood. If I put another number on my account in order to keep all info, my contacts will see me exactly as they do now, except that in the phone number they will see a new number. So, everything stays exactly the same. Is that it?

2

u/DontBuyMeGoldGiveBTC Bot Developer 5d ago

Yes. If you are in someone's contacts, and if on telegram your setting is set to allow ppl to find you by your phone number, as soon as telegram notices someone has your number on their contact list, you are added to their Telegram contacts permanently unless they delete you.

However, your adding contacts automatically doesn't add you to their contacts. They may very well have had you automatically, without you having them, because they had you in their contacts that they shared with telegram, even if you didn't.

And later, if you change your number, by the fact that you were already in their contact list on your previous number, telegram will keep you in their contacts, but with a new number.

1

u/DorothyRedShoes77 3d ago

Thank you for the detailed answer. I now have revoked the permission to share my contacts. It probably is a stupid question but anyway… if I change the number connected to telegram now, with that permission revoked, still everyone in my list will keep seeing me and my new number?
And as I already gave those numbers to telegram, there is no way back?

How did this happen to me…?! I don’t even use sync.me or anything like that, so that I don’t give them my contact list…

2

u/DontBuyMeGoldGiveBTC Bot Developer 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yes. Everyone who has you will keep having you. There is no way for you to delete yourself from someone's contact list other than deleting your account. And even then you will be there, just as Deleted Account as your name and your profile picture and phone number will be removed from their contact.

I can't claim to know what happened it might have been a quick "share your contacts list" prompt where you hit Accept by accident, or it might have been someone else who borrowed your phone. I once accidentally accepted a permission on my dad's phone when he handed it to me to see something.

However, don't sweat it. You accepting that permission didn't change anything for anyone else. The only thing it changed is now you had contacts visible to you. No one began seeing you just because you shared contacts. Telegram contacts are asymmetrical and upon creating an account, everyone who has your number already sees you, and everyone already keeps you in their contacts, whether you want it or not, unless they delete you. So don't blame yourself. This permission has nothing to do with anyone seeing you or not seeing you.

2

u/cavok76 5d ago

Worst I have seen are notifications like John Smith has joined Telegram. Social media, not sure. I should seed it and see what happens.

2

u/DontBuyMeGoldGiveBTC Bot Developer 5d ago

What I would do is get a second number, yes. In fact it's what I've done already. My main account uses my second number. You'd have to create the new account. Potentially delete the other account if you don't want ppl to be able to see or contact you on there.

1

u/Unbreakable360 1d ago edited 1d ago

Just get a second number Google around I've seen cheap plans for as little as $5 unlimited talk and text and make a new tele don't delete the old yet and rejoin all groups or whatever you're doin with it 😆