How to Find Your Telegram User ID
To find your own Telegram ID, open Soft Lite ID Bot and press START. The bot displays your numeric ID and the basic account fields Telegram makes available.
For another person, tap User and then Select user, or forward one of their messages. Telegram may hide the sender behind a forwarded message, so no bot can recover an ID that Telegram did not include.
What is a Telegram user ID?
A Telegram user ID is the numeric identifier in the Bot API User.id field. Regular accounts and bots are both represented by User objects, although bots have is_bot=true.
The number is useful for access lists, bot logic, database records, and integrations. Unlike a username or profile name, it does not change when the account owner edits public profile details.
How to find your own Telegram ID
- Open @SoftLite_ID_bot.
- Press START.
- Copy the number shown under Your Telegram ID.
No username or forwarded message is needed. Your START message contains your sender object, so the bot reads the ID Telegram supplied.
How to find someone else’s Telegram ID
Use the user selector. Tap User → Select user, then choose the account in Telegram’s selection window. Telegram sends the selected identifier to the bot through an official users_shared service message.
Forward a message. Tap User, then forward a message from the person. If Telegram describes the origin as a known user, the bot can show the sender’s ID.
Privacy limit: a forwarded message can contain only a hidden sender name and no user ID. Soft Lite ID Bot reports that limitation instead of guessing.
Can a bot find any user from @username?
No. The official Bot API does not provide a universal lookup for arbitrary people by username. Claims that any @username always resolves to a numeric user ID are misleading.
Soft Lite ID Bot can recognize a username already known to it, such as one previously received through START, the selector, or a forwarded message. Otherwise, select the user or forward a message.
User ID vs username
- User ID: a numeric Bot API identifier.
- Username: a public handle such as
@example, which can be changed or removed. - Display name: a non-unique profile label.
If an integration asks for user_id, do not substitute a username unless that specific API method explicitly accepts it.
Why forwarding sometimes produces a different object
Telegram distinguishes origins from a user, hidden user, chat, and channel. A message copied from a group may expose its author but not the original group. A post sent on behalf of a channel can identify the channel rather than an individual.
Check the type shown in the result. For this task it should say User, not Chat, Channel, or Bot.
Quick summary
- Your ID: open the bot and press START.
- Another user: use Select user or forward their message.
- Hidden forwarded sender: cannot be recovered.
- Username alone: not a guaranteed lookup for an arbitrary person.