Telegram Ads account: how to keep a company's access in the company's hands
A company's Telegram Ads account looks like the company's own, but the only way in is through individual people's Telegram accounts. They belong to whoever logs in, whoever owns the channel behind an organization, and the admins of an agency account's technical group.
So access to the company's ads is a chain of personal accounts and rights, and the company controls it only while it controls every link. That explains why one colleague sees the ads and another does not, and why access can leave with an employee or a contractor.
What stands behind a "Telegram Ads account"
The phrase covers several different things. The platform has two official entry points: a personal account, which every Telegram account that logs in gets, and an organization, built around a Telegram group or channel. "Agency", "corporate" and "euro" account are trade terms that agencies and resellers, us included, use for an account an agency opens for a client and bills the client for. A pared-down account is our name for one on the platform itself that a person runs directly and pays for in Gram (formerly Toncoin).
Each of them has its own way in:
| Account | Who creates it | Who has access |
|---|---|---|
| Telegram account | The person who signed up for Telegram with that phone number | That person |
| Personal account on the platform | Nobody: every Telegram account that logs in has one | Whoever logs in with that Telegram account |
| Organization | Only the owner of the group or channel it is built around | Every admin of that group or channel |
| Agency account | The agency, for the client | Admins of the account's technical group |
| Account in a connected service | Whoever signs up with an email | Whoever logs in with it |
Every link is someone's Telegram account
Logging in requires an existing Telegram account. You enter its phone number and confirm the login in a message from Telegram's verified service account, so only whoever holds that account can log in.
An organization can be created only by the owner of its group or channel, and every admin of that chat can manage its ads. If a contractor created the company's channel and still owns it, the company cannot create the organization itself. In an agency account, the admins of its technical group manage the ads.
The advertiser alone is responsible for safeguarding its accounts, including the Telegram accounts used to log in. It is also liable for losses caused by people not authorized to act for it. Telegram may also ask for documents on the advertiser's legal status and expects to be told when the people authorized to act for it change.
Why one colleague sees the ads and another does not
Most access puzzles come down to a missing link: the colleague lacks the right account or the right permission. Check in order:
- The phone number they logged in with: another number opens another personal account.
- The organization: the ads may sit in another organization of the same login. Switching is in the menu under the user's name in the top-right corner.
- Admin rights in the group or channel the organization is built around.
- For an agency account, admin rights in its technical group. If you cannot grant them yourself, ask the agency.
- In a connected service, whether that ad account is linked to the colleague's own login.
Most of these fixes give someone new access, and every grant is one more to take back later.
When people leave
The same chain makes departures risky. An employee who leaves keeps their Telegram account, and a contractor who created the channel may still own it. Until ownership moves and the admin lists are cleaned up, both keep access to the company's ads.
How quickly access ends after an admin is removed is worth checking rather than assuming: remove the person, then confirm from their side that the ads are gone.
Where a connected service fits
A connected service adds one more link with its own logins. In Adstat, an agency account is connected through its technical group. For accounts opened at other agencies, access lasts 14 days; for accounts opened through us or our partners, it is permanent. In return, every ad account linked to a login shows up in one window, and one statistics export covers all of them.
Questions and answers
A contractor created our channel and is still its owner. Can the company create the organization?
No: only the channel's owner can create an organization for it. Decide who in the company will own the channel and ask the contractor to transfer ownership to that person.
An employee who managed our ads is leaving. What should we change?
If they own the channel or group behind an organization, have them transfer ownership first. Then remove them as an admin there and in the technical group of every agency account, and remove their login from any connected service. Finally, check from their side that the ads are no longer visible.
Will Telegram ask our company for documents?
It may, at its discretion: supporting documents on the advertiser's legal status, including constitutional documents, tax numbers and the powers of its representatives. Keep them ready.
What to do first
- For each organization, write down who owns its channel or group and who administers it; for each agency account, who administers its technical group. Note which Telegram accounts log in to each.
- Make sure each channel or group behind an organization is owned by a Telegram account the company controls.
- Remove former employees and contractors from admin lists and connected services, then confirm they no longer see the ads.
- Turn on two-step verification in every Telegram account that logs in to the ad platform.
- For an agency account, agree with the agency which employees will be admins of its technical group.