Everything you need to know about how Telegram Ads Spy works and where the data comes from.
What is Telegram Ads Spy?+
Telegram Ads Spy is a public archive of Telegram advertising. We capture every campaign from TON and EUR cabinets in real time: text, CTAs, images, target channels, advertisers. Search, filter by niche or country, alerts, public API. Used by media buyers for competitive analysis, affiliates for offer discovery, and journalists and researchers for investigations.
Where does the data come from?+
Telegram Ads is Telegram's official advertising platform (TON and EUR versions). Every sponsored impression is publicly observable — we aggregate these via our regional observer network — internal infrastructure of regional representatives and partners. We do not scrape Telegram directly and do not use closed sources.
How much does it cost?+
Basic access is free, no signup required. CSV export, deep pagination and alerts are on the Pro tier ($49/mo). Enterprise access to bulk API and team seats is $999/mo. Details at /pricing.
How is your data different from Telegram's cabinet analytics?+
Telegram's cabinet only shows data for your own campaigns — you cannot see what competitors are advertising. We aggregate public impressions market-wide: see others' creatives, CTAs, geo splits and months of history. The Telegram cabinet is about your campaigns; Telegram Ads Spy is about the market.
Is there a public API?+
Yes. GET /api/v1/ads, /channels, /advertisers, /niches, /geos, /trends, /miniapps, /stats. Anonymous access is limited to 20 objects per request and 100 pagination depth. Telegram OAuth registration gives a key with 100-object pages and 600 RPM. JSON · CSV · RSS · webhook. Full docs at /api-docs.
How do alerts work?+
Create a rule in /account/alerts: match by keyword, niche, advertiser, or target channel. Every new creative matching the rule is sent via @tgadsspybot on Telegram (default), webhook, or email (Pro). Latency: minutes from creative appearance to notification.
Who uses it and how?+
Media buyers — competitive analysis before launching campaigns. Affiliates — finding proven offers and copy. Marketers — budget benchmarking (via CPM data). Journalists and researchers — investigating fake-ad and misinfo campaigns. Telegram channels — monitoring who advertises against their audience.
What export options are there?+
UI: /datasets page and "Download CSV" button on /ads and /channels. API: all endpoints return JSON and CSV (?format=csv). Datasets — snapshots at /datasets under CC-BY-4.0. Bulk exports up to 1M rows — Enterprise.
Do you index private channels?+
No. Only public channels and bots (those with @username and a public profile). Private groups, secret chats and closed channels are not indexed or scanned.
How often is the spy updated?+
New creatives appear in the archive within 30 seconds of first public impression. Channel metadata (members, avg views) is refreshed by tier from 30 minutes to 72 hours. Nothing on the public feed is cached longer than 5 minutes.
Can an advertiser remove their ads from the archive?+
Ads are public — we do not moderate them. If a creative infringes your rights (DMCA, RU 152-FZ, GDPR) — write to [email protected]; we will remove within 5 business days. "I do not want this visible" alone is not grounds for removal.
How are personal data removal requests (152-FZ / GDPR) handled?+
DSAR (Data Subject Access Requests) — [email protected]. Our privacy counsel processes within 30 days per GDPR / RU 152-FZ. Russian-domain requests follow a separate 152-FZ flow.
How do you protect channel owners' identities?+
We publish only what Telegram already publishes: @username, avatar, name, members. We do not have, and do not attempt to obtain, owners' personal data (full name, email, phone).
How do I add my Telegram channel to monitoring?+
Submit your channel's @username at /submit, or just search for it at /ads (if the channel is not in the system yet, it auto-enters the indexing queue). Channels with active ads usually appear in the archive within a few hours.
What should I do if I find content infringing my rights?+
Send a DMCA notice or 152-FZ request to [email protected] with proof of rights. Standard review takes up to 5 business days. Content requiring immediate removal (CSAM, threats) — [email protected] flagged URGENT.
Are you affiliated with Telegram?+
No. Telegram Ads Spy is an independent G.Media project (Dubai, UAE). We use Telegram Ads public impressions, but are not partnered with Telegram FZ-LLC and do not receive data from them directly.