Is it safe to connect a bot to your Telegram chats?
The bot sees only the private chats you chose, keeps encrypted copies of them for 7, 30 or 60 days, and does not pass them to AI. But connecting a bot to your chats means trusting its owner, so read the privacy policy and connect only the chats you need.
Open in TelegramTelegram opens. No Premium needed, and the bot will see only the private chats you choose.
What is stored and how
Texts and media from the chats you chose are stored encrypted on servers for 7, 30 or 60 days and then deleted automatically. This is not end-to-end encryption: the server decrypts the data to send you notifications and show you the archive.
What the bot receives and what it does not
Only what Telegram passes to it for the private chats you chose: the messages of both sides, edits, and notices of deletions. It gets no groups, channels, secret chats or calls. Your password, login code and your other chats are out of its reach: the bot is connected to chats, it has not logged in to your account. Until you accept the terms, the bot saves nothing.
How to erase everything
With the /delete_my_data command in the bot, right away. If you disconnect the bot, the data is erased after 48 hours.
How the bot differs from signing in with a code
An unofficial app or service that you give your login code gets your session, which means access to your whole account. Flashback works differently: you connect it inside Telegram through Chat Automation, the bot sees only the private chats you chose, and it never receives a code or a password. The risks of such apps are described on a separate page.
What to check before you connect
Choose only the chats you need and keep the others out of the bot’s reach. Open the list of rights and make sure only the necessary ones are on: reading messages and, to detect deleted chats, replying to messages. The bot itself suggests turning off any extras. Read the policy and the terms: a conversation holds data about other people, not only you.
Documents
The details are in the privacy policy and the terms of use; people who chat with Flashback users have a separate notice.
More questions
- Can the bot read chats I did not connect?
- No. The bot receives only what Telegram passes to it for the chats you chose.
- Is AI used?
- No. Flashback uses no AI: searching the archive is plain text search.
- Can I disconnect the bot from one chat and keep the rest?
- Yes. In Chat Automation you choose which private chats the bot sees, and you can exclude one chat and keep the others. The bot receives nothing more from an excluded chat.
- What can the other person do if they do not want their messages kept?
- Send the bot the /forget_me command. Within 24 hours their private chats with Flashback users are erased from every archive, and if they choose, the bot stops keeping them until they undo it. Flashback users are told about it without naming them.
- Does the bot see my passwords and login code?
- No. It does not log in to your account and receives neither a code nor a password. It sees only the messages of the private chats you chose, including what you and the other person wrote in them.
Related questions
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.
Open in Telegram