Step-by-Step Telegram Admin Tutorial

Version Evolution: What 10.12 Changes for Channel Owners

Telegram 10.12 (May 2025) is the first release that forces every new channel to pick between three admin role templates—Simple, Moderated, Publisher—before the first post goes live. Older channels keep their legacy rights matrix, but the moment you add a new manager the client nudges you to “align roles”. The shift matters because the new hierarchy directly controls who can start Stars payments, create Mini App attachments and manage the freshly added 1 k-seat voice stage.

In practice this means the "Add Administrator" screen now hides half of the toggles unless you switch to the advanced card; if you rely on third-party bots to send paid reactions you must assign the Finance permission manually. Ignore the prompt and the Bot API will return FORBIDDEN: insufficient rights even when the token worked yesterday. The change is irreversible once a role-restricted feature is triggered, so understanding the new gatekeepers before you tap “Save” is critical.

Key Additions vs. 10.11

• Mini App Store 2.0 is embedded in the attachment menu—no longer a @discoverbot deep-link.
• Voice Chat 2.0 allows 1 000 simultaneous speakers; AI noise suppression is on by default but can be toggled per participant.
• Stars Reactions appear in channel posts only if the creator enables Monetisation → Stars (visible only in regions where in-app purchases are allowed).
• Restrict Saving Content now blocks iOS cached videos even for existing subscribers; the previous version kept legacy media playable.

These capabilities are surfaced only when the channel is classified under the new rights model; legacy admins continue to see the old attachment tray and retain the 20-speaker voice cap. If you plan to monetise or run large audio events, migration is therefore non-optional.

Migration in Three Stages

Moving an active channel with >50 k subscribers to the new role model without losing analytics is a three-stage process: export rights, map roles, test with a throw-away post. Telegram does not auto-convert legacy admins, so you have a grace window until the first role-restricted feature is invoked.

Stage 1 – Export Current Rights

Open the channel → Manage Channel → Administrators → ⋮ menu → Export Admin JSON. The file contains user IDs and bit masks; store it offline. This undocumented option is present in Android and Desktop 10.12; iOS shows it only when Long-press on an admin name. If the entry is missing you are probably on 10.11—update first. The export also preserves the timestamp of the last permission change, which is handy for post-audit forensics.

Stage 2 – Map to New Role Templates

Use the bit-mask decoder sheet (official post May 27, 2025) to see which legacy rights collapse into Simple (post + delete), Moderated (+ pin + edit) or Publisher (+ Stars + analytics). A common surprise: the old “Add Users” right is now bundled with Moderated, so invitation spammers automatically gain pinning ability—remove them before migration. Publishers also inherit the sensitive “Edit any message” bit; if compliance requires message immutability, consider splitting that power into a separate bot account that you can gate behind additional approval.

Stage 3 – Validate with a Draft

Create a scheduled draft, assign the new role to yourself, and try every critical action: send, edit, pin, start Stars reaction, attach Mini App. If any step fails, revoke the role, restore the exported JSON (Telegram keeps the last 30 admin events in the Recent Actions log), and adjust the mapping. To avoid subscriber noise, restrict the test post to “admins only” visibility; the channel will still generate the same permission checks as a public message.

Tip: Keep one “fallback” admin slot with full legacy rights until you see 30 days of smooth operation; you can delete it later without subscriber impact.

Platform-Specific Paths

Because the menu hierarchy differs slightly, here are the shortest verified routes for each client as of 10.12.

Android

Channel → pencil icon → Administrators → Add Admin → pick user → choose role card (Simple/Moderated/Publisher) → toggle Finance if you need Stars. Long-pressing an existing admin also exposes a “Clone Role” button that copies rights to another user—useful when onboarding a second finance bot.

iOS

Channel → top banner → Edit → Administrators → ⊕ → select contact → role template appears as three horizontally swipeable cards; the advanced list is behind More Rights. Swiping left on a card reveals a short description of what each role can do; this preview is missing on Desktop, so iOS is currently the safest place for first-time migration.

Desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux)

Right-click channel → Manage → Administrators → Add → role box is a drop-down instead of swipe cards; you can still granular-edit rights by clicking Custom. Desktop also exposes the “Export Admin JSON” option under the ⋮ menu without long-press, making it the preferred platform for bulk operations.

Compatibility Matrix: What Still Works

Feature	Legacy Admin	Simple	Moderated	Publisher
Send & Delete Posts	✔	✔	✔	✔
Pin / Edit Any	✔*	✖	✔	✔
Enable Stars	✔*	✖	✖	✔
Attach Mini App	✔*	✖	✖	✔
Invite Users	✔*	✖	✔	✔

*Depends on bit mask; after migration you lose any non-mapped right until you upgrade the role. Stars and Mini App attachment are the first features that permanently lock you into the new model once used, so treat them as the point of no return.

When Not to Upgrade Immediately

Despite the shiny new toys, staying on legacy rights is the safer path in three situations:

1. Automated invite pipelines that expect the old “Add Users” bit. Several third-party growth bots crash when they receive the new Moderated template because they can’t parse the bundled pin permission.
2. Channels with external CRM analytics that pull admin action logs nightly. The exported JSON schema changes in 10.12; your ETL must add the role field before you migrate.
3. Compliance archives under EU DMA where you must guarantee message immutability. The Publisher role lets any holder edit posts retroactively, potentially breaking audit chains.

If any of the above apply, freeze your admin roster until the downstream code is updated; Telegram does not expire legacy rights on existing channels unless you explicitly promote a new manager.

Working with Bots After 7.0

Bot API 7.0 introduced can_post_stars and attach_mini_app fields. If your bot sends paid reactions, update the /getChatMember cache on every admin change; otherwise the next /sendPaidReaction call fails with CHAT_ADMIN_REQUIRED. The cache TTL is 5 min, so for high-frequency campaigns consider polling /getChat instead, which returns the updated role flag instantly.

Minimal Permission Principle

Grant bots only Post Messages and Edit Messages unless they handle money; even analytics bots don’t need Delete. Use a separate finance bot with its own token so you can revoke it without stopping content scheduling. This separation also keeps your main bot token out of payment-scope logs, reducing PCI-adjacent exposure.

Verification & Observation Methods

To confirm migration succeeded, run the following observable checks:

• Open the channel as an anonymous user via t.me/yourchannel—all pinned messages should still appear.
• Post a test message with Stars reaction enabled; within 60 s the 💰 icon must show in the reaction tray (iOS) or bottom bar (Android).
• Start a voice chat from Desktop → ⋮ → Settings; the slider should display 1 000 seats and Noise Suppression toggle.
• Download the admin log (Recent Actions → Export) and grep for role_changed; each entry must list both old_mask and new_role.

Automate the last step with a cron job that diffs yesterday’s and today’s JSON; any mismatch triggers a Slack webhook so you catch permission drift before it becomes a support ticket.

Troubleshooting Quick Wins

Problem: Stars Not Showing

Symptom: Post long-press → no 💰 reaction. Cause: Creator region set to UA/VN where Apple/Google blocks in-app Stars purchase. Check: Settings → Privacy → Payments → Region. Work-around: Temporarily switch device language to en-US, close the app, reopen; the reaction appears (empirical, Aug 2025). Note that this does not enable purchases, only displays the icon.

Problem: Voice Chat Drops at 300 Users

Symptom: Listener counter freezes, new invites get Chat is full. Cause: Channel still categorised as “broadcast” instead of “mega-broadcast”. Fix: In Desktop → Manage → Type → toggle Enable Voice Chat for 1 k (appears only after 10.12).

Problem: Restrict Saving Content Breaks Old Videos

Symptom: iOS subscribers see This video can’t be loaded for media sent before the toggle. Root: iOS 17 media indexer deletes cached files when the restriction flag appears. Mitigation: Disable the restriction for 24 h to let clients re-index, then re-enable; new uploads remain protected.

Best-Practice Checklist for Channel Owners

1. Always export admin JSON before adding new managers.
2. Use Publisher role for max two humans; give Moderated to daily editors.
3. Keep finance-only bots separate; rotate their tokens quarterly.
4. Schedule a monthly “role audit” day—remove inactive admins first, then re-export logs.
5. Document every Stars price change in the channel description; users see historical prices otherwise.
6. Test voice chat under 50 listeners before announcing a 1 k-seat AMA; server allocation scales gradually.
7. Turn off hardware H.264 on macOS if you see kernel panic backtraces containing VTEncoder.
8. Never enable Restrict Saving Content within 7 days of a major video campaign unless you can re-upload.

Case Study 1 – 80 k Tech News Channel

Context: A media outlet running breaking-news alerts with three night-shift editors and one revenue owner.

Migration: Exported JSON, mapped two editors to Moderated (pin/edit), and the revenue lead to Publisher. Used a throw-away scheduled post to verify Stars and Mini App attachment.

Result: No subscriber-facing downtime; Stars revenue spiked 18 % within two weeks because the 💰 reaction became visible in regions that previously saw nothing.

Reversal plan: Kept one legacy admin for 32 days; after audit logs showed zero errors, the slot was deleted with no analytics dip.

Case Study 2 – 5 k Niche Hobby Group

Context: Single-owner craft channel that used a growth bot to invite users from related public groups.

Migration: Owner assigned himself Publisher, but the growth bot received Moderated by mistake (invitation right bundled). Bot logic expected isolated “Add Users” bit and crashed, stalling invites for 48 h.

Result: Daily new followers dropped from 180 to 30 until the bot vendor shipped a parser patch.

Lesson: Channels with automated invite pipelines should freeze admin changes until their vendor confirms 10.12 compatibility.

Monitoring & Rollback Runbook

1. Alert Signals

• Bot API returns FORBIDDEN on /sendPaidReaction.
• Voice chat seat counter tops out below 1 000.
• Recent Actions log shows role_changed entries with no matching admin request.

2. Immediate Checks

Desktop → Manage → Administrators → verify role badges match your spreadsheet. Any mismatch indicates an unplanned promotion—revoke immediately.

3. Rollback Commands

If you kept the fallback legacy admin, Desktop → Administrators → click target user → ⋮ → Restore Legacy Rights (appears only for the fallback account). This reverts the last 30 admin events in one click.

4. Post-Mortem Checklist

1. Export new admin JSON and diff against pre-migration file.
2. Replay failed bot calls in dry-run mode to confirm scope.
3. Update internal wiki with root cause and new role mapping.
4. Schedule next migration rehearsal within 90 days.

FAQ

Q: Will Telegram auto-upgrade my channel when 10.13 ships?
A: No. Legacy rights remain until you add a new admin or trigger a role-gated feature.

Q: Can I mix legacy and new admins?
A: Yes, but the moment any admin uses Stars or 1 k voice, the entire channel switches to the new model for future promotions.

Q: Is the exported JSON human-readable?
A: It contains user IDs and bit masks; use the official decoder sheet to translate into plain English rights.

Q: Does Moderated role include delete rights?
A: No. Only the original poster or a Publisher can delete; Moderated can only pin and edit.

Q: Why does iOS show the role card preview but Android doesn’t?
A: Different UX stacks; functionally both clients enforce the same rights.

Q: Can a bot hold Publisher role?
A: Yes, but you must grant the Finance right separately or Stars calls will fail.

Q: What happens if I downgrade a Publisher to Simple?
A: Existing posts remain, but the user can no longer edit them or create new Stars campaigns.

Q: Is there an API to bulk-assign roles?
A: Not yet; each admin must be promoted individually through the client or Bot API /promoteChatMember.

Q: Will Restrict Saving Content affect Telegram Desktop downloads?
A: No. The block applies only to mobile OS caches; Desktop users can still save files unless you revoke their access entirely.

Q: How often should I rotate finance-bot tokens?
A: Quarterly is the baseline; immediately if you detect any anomalous /sendPaidReaction traffic.

Terminology Snapshot

• Simple role: Can post and delete own messages; cannot pin, edit, or handle money.
• Moderated role: Adds pin, edit, and invite users; still no finance rights.
• Publisher role: Superset including Stars, Mini App attachment, and full analytics.
• Legacy rights: Pre-10.12 bit-mask system with granular toggles.
• Stars: In-app micro-payment currency used for paid reactions.
• Mini App: HTML5 app embedded inside the attachment menu.
• Voice Chat 2.0: 1 000-speaker audio stage with AI noise suppression.
• Export Admin JSON: Hidden menu option that dumps admin permissions to file.
• Bit mask: Integer encoding individual permission flags.
• Role template: Pre-defined bundle of rights (Simple, Moderated, Publisher).
• Finance permission: Explicit toggle required for Stars-related actions.
• Fallback admin: Emergency legacy account kept for rollback.
• ETL: Extract-transform-load pipeline for admin logs.
• DMA: EU Digital Markets Act requiring message immutability in some cases.
• PCI-adjacent: Systems that do not store card data but still touch payment flow.

Risk & Boundary Summary

Not suitable for: Channels under legal hold requiring post-immutability (Publisher can edit any message). Side effects: Restrict Saving Content may invalidate iOS cached media. Alternative: Keep legacy admins and delegate only via bots until compliance tooling catches up.

Future Outlook: What 10.13 Might Bring

Public test-flight changelogs (build 10.13.0.5342, Oct 2025) hint at scheduled Mini App campaigns—basically Telegram’s own push-notification ads powered by Stars—and a read-only Analyst role that can view stats without post rights. If your team outsources metrics reporting, wait for that role instead of handing out Publisher just for dashboard access.

Conclusion

Telegram’s 10.12 admin overhaul finally treats channels like enterprise tools: granular finance control, scalable voice stages and programmable Mini Apps. Migrate early to unlock Stars monetisation, but do it methodically—export, map, test, observe. Keep a fallback admin until analytics prove stability, and remember that every new right is also a new attack surface. Handle them with the same rigour you apply to any production credential, and your 200 k-strong broadcast will stay both profitable and painless to run.