Can I choose only some chats?

Yes. You choose the chats the bot works with and can exclude individual ones. The bot gets nothing from the other chats.

Can I connect several bots at once?

No. Only one such bot can be connected to an account, and connecting another one disconnects the previous one.

What happens if I disconnect the bot?

The bot stops receiving messages. The Flashback archive is erased completely 48 hours after disconnecting, and you can delete it sooner with the /delete_my_data command.

Does the bot see messages sent before I connected it?

No. Telegram sends the bot only new events and does not hand over the chat history. That is why it cannot show what was deleted before you connected.

What is Chat Automation in Telegram, and is Premium needed?

Updated October 27, 2026

Chat Automation is a feature of Telegram itself: you connect a bot to your account and choose the private chats it works with. A Premium subscription is not needed, and the bot sees only the chats you choose and gets no access to your account.

Open in Telegram

Telegram opens. No Premium needed, and the bot will see only the private chats you choose.

What it is

A bot normally works only in its own conversation with you. Chat Automation lets you connect it to your private chats: the bot receives messages from them and notifications about deletions and edits. The account stays yours, and connecting does not hand it to anyone. Flashback works this way: it connects through this feature, not by logging in to your account, and sees only what you open to it.

Do you need Premium

No. Since May 2026 and the release of Bot API 10.0, bots can be connected without a Premium subscription. Many guides still say it is required, but that is out of date.

Which chats and rights

You choose which private chats the bot works with and can exclude individual ones. Groups and channels are not passed to the bot, and it cannot see secret chats. You grant the rights too. Which ones Flashback asks for and why is described on the page “How the bot works and what access it needs”.

What a connected bot receives

While the connection is active, Telegram sends the bot new messages from the chosen chats, new versions of edited messages, and notices of deletions. A deletion notice carries only message numbers, not their text, so a bot can show something deleted only if it saved the message earlier. Everything from before the connection is not passed to the bot.

How it differs from handing over your account

The bot does not log in to your account: it needs neither a login code nor a password, and it can only see what Telegram passes to it for the chats you chose. Flashback shows you where to turn the feature on: the bot chat has a step-by-step guide with a video. You can disconnect the bot at any time.

Excluding a chat or disconnecting the bot

The connection is flexible: you can exclude a chat without disconnecting the bot, and you can remove the whole connection. Then the bot stops receiving messages, and the Flashback archive is erased after 48 hours. Only one such bot can be connected to an account.

Past deletions are gone. The next ones you can see

Connect Flashback before something important gets erased. The bot walks you through connecting step by step, and you can disconnect it at any time.