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Bot chats

Set up Telegram

Forward selected iPhone messages to your own Telegram chat through a bot you create.

How this destination works

Fwrd makes a direct HTTPS attempt from the iPhone to this destination when it is active. The destination service still controls final acceptance and delivery.

Before you begin

  • A Telegram account, so you can message BotFather and create the bot
  • A few minutes in Telegram on any device — the bot is created there, not in Fwrd
  • Fwrd installed on the iPhone that receives the messages
Configuration used by this guide: Telegram bot token and chat ID

Set up the destination

10 steps

  1. Create a bot with BotFather

    In Telegram, open a chat with @BotFather and send /newbot. It asks for a display name, then for a username that has to end in “bot”.

  2. Copy the bot token

    BotFather replies with a token: a number, a colon, then a long string. Anyone who has it controls your bot, so keep it private. Send /token to BotFather if you ever need to replace it.

    110201543:AAHdqTcvCH1vGWJxfSeofSAs0K5PALDsaw

  3. Start the chat yourself

    A Telegram bot cannot message you first. Open the chat with your new bot and tap Start, then send it any message so there is something for the next step to read.

  4. Read your chat ID

    Open the address below in a browser, with your own token in place of the placeholder, and find the chat id in the response. Your own chat with the bot is a positive number. Copy it exactly.

    https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_TOKEN>/getUpdates

  5. Add Telegram in Fwrd

    On the iPhone, open Destinations, tap Add Destination, and choose Telegram. Give it a name you will recognise in the list.

  6. Enter the token and chat ID

    Paste the token into Bot token and the number into Chat ID. Fwrd checks the shape of both before it lets you continue.

    Bot token + Chat ID ← BotFather and getUpdates

  7. Send a test message from Fwrd

    Tap Send Test Message and check that it arrives. This proves the credential and the network path. It does not prove the SMS automation, so do not stop here.

  8. Save and keep the destination active

    Tap Save Destination and leave Destination Active switched on. An inactive route stays saved on the iPhone but is skipped when messages arrive.

    Destination Active ← On

  9. Prove it with a real message

    Text yourself something that contains nothing private and watch it arrive at the destination. Try it with the iPhone unlocked first, then locked, because locked is the state it will usually be in.

  10. Sending to a group instead — not yet tested by us

    Fwrd accepts a group chat ID and Telegram supports it, but we have only confirmed delivery to a personal chat on a real iPhone, so treat groups as unproven and test with a message that contains nothing private. Three things change: add the bot to the group, send /start@your_bot there because Telegram hides ordinary group messages from bots, and expect a negative chat ID — a supergroup starts with -100, and the minus sign is part of it. Converting a group to a supergroup changes its ID, so you would need to update it here.

What counts as verified

A saved destination, completed checklist, or successful connection test is setup evidence—not delivery proof. Final verification requires a sanitized incoming SMS on a physical iPhone and the matching result at Telegram, including a locked-device test when that is part of your intended use.