In this article, we explain what to do if there used to be an owner in a chat, but now there isn’t. From here on, we’ll use the word “chat” to refer to both groups and channels.

This article is related to another one: “How to Return to a Group or Channel After Leaving?”. Maybe it will also be useful for you.

Table of content:

1. Owner’s account is deleted

If the chat owner is still listed as an administrator, but their account has been deleted, there are the following options:

1.1. Automatic ownership transferring

In some cases, the Telegram platform can automatically transfer the chat ownership to another user. Telegram wrote about this mechanism on its Twitter in October 2021:

In order for Telegram to transfer the ownership to one of the administrators, the following conditions must be met:

1. The chat owner account must be deleted. If the owner left the chat, the ownership will not be transferred.
2. The chat owner account must have been deleted no more than a year ago. If more than a year has passed since the owner’s account was deleted, there is practically no chance.
3. In a channel, only the administrator who has the permission to publish messages can receive the ownership. Having other permissions increases the likelihood of receiving the ownership. If the admin cannot publish messages, then he has no chance of receiving the ownership.
4. In a group, the key criterion is the administrator’s permission to promote new administrators. Having other permissions increases the chances. If there are no administrators in the group, then the ownership of the group can go to a regular member — to the one who joined the group earlier than everyone else.

Here’s how the ownership transfer mechanism works:

1. Users don’t need to do anything: Telegram transfers ownership automatically. No need to press any buttons, write any requests anywhere — nothing. The Telegram platform itself decides when and to whom to transfer ownership. And whether to transfer them at all.
2. The ownership of the chat owner can be transferred to one of the administrators within a few months after the owner’s account is deleted. We have not heard of cases where this happened more than a year later. Sometimes the ownership is transferred faster, sometimes slower. It is impossible to know the exact time or somehow influence it.
3. The ownership may be transferred to another admin, or they may not be transferred. The Telegram platform itself decides in which cases to transfer ownership and in which not. It is impossible to find out whether the ownership will be transferred in a specific chat or somehow influence the chance of ownership transferring.

1.2. Restoring the owner’s account

If the account is deleted not by the user, but by the Telegram platform, it can sometimes be restored. We wrote about how to restore an account if its phone number was banned by the platform in the article “What to do when my phone number gets banned on Telegram?”

2. The chat owner has left it

If the owner has left the chat, but the chat itself continues to exist, then the owner can try to return to it. We tell you how to do this in the article “How to Return to a Group or Channel After Leaving?”

3. Chat is deleted

If the chat is deleted by the owner, then such a chat cannot be restored.

But sometimes the chat is deleted by the Telegram platform, for example, for violating its rules. Sometimes this happens by mistake. If you encounter such a situation, try writing an email to [email protected] and describing your situation in as much detail as possible, as well as a request to restore the chat. Telegram administrators are unlikely to respond to your letter, but there is a chance that they will restore your chat.