Our subscribers sometimes encounter a situation where Telegram reports that a user with a given phone number does not exist, although it does. In this article, we explain why this might happen.

Table on content

1. Where might the number search restriction apply?
2. Ensure you’re searching correctly
3. The user does not exist
4. The user’s privacy settings
5. Telegram has restricted you from finding other users
   • Contact sync failure
   • Manual searches in quick succession
   • How do I get rid of the restriction?
6. Other important information

1. Where might the number search restriction apply?

Here are some common situations where you may encounter the number search restriction:

1. Tapping on a phone number in a message and expecting Telegram to show the name of the profile with the associated number, but this does not happen.
2. Trying to manually add a user to your Telegram contacts list, but Telegram reports that the phone number is not bound to a user.
3. The contact is saved in your device’s contacts, and contact syncing is enabled in your Telegram account settings, but the contact does not appear in your Telegram contact list.

2. Ensure you’re searching correctly

Official Telegram apps don’t allow you to find a Telegram user by phone number using a global search. That is, if you simply enter a phone number in the search field, Telegram won’t find the user with that number, even if they’re already added to your contact list.

There are few ways to find someone on Telegram by phone number:

1. Send their phone number to any chat and tap on that phone number.
2. Open your contact list, tap the «Add contact» button, enter the username and number, and tap the «Add» button.
3. Follow the link t.me/+XXXXXXXXXXX.

If the app doesn’t show the user when searching using either of these two methods, move on to the next step.

3. The user does not exist

Make sure that the user you are looking for has not blocked the ability to find them via their phone number.

To do this, ask them to go to the section «Settings › Privacy and Security › Phone number» and check whether these settings allow you to search for them by number:

1. If they have only allowed their contacts to find them by number, then make sure that they have added your account to their contact list. By the way, Telegram offers this setting by default.
2. If there is a section «Always hide» on the screen, then make sure that your account or any of the groups you are a member of is not there.

Please note: you need to check the settings of the user you’re looking for; not your own settings.

4. The user’s privacy settings

Make sure that the user you are looking for has not blocked finding them by phone number.

To do this, ask them to go to the section «Settings › Privacy and Security › Phone number» and check whether these settings allow you to search for them by number:

1. If they have allowed only their contacts to find them by number, then make sure that they have added your account to their contact list. By the way, Telegram offers this setting by default.
2. If there is a section «Always hide» on the screen, then make sure that your account or any of the groups you are a member of is not there.

Please note: you need to check not your settings, but the settings of the user you are looking for.

5. Telegram has restricted you from finding other users

If your account sends too many requests to the server to search for users by phone number, Telegram may temporarily ban you from doing so. There are two main reasons why this may happen:

5.1. Contact sync failure

If you have enabled the «Sync contacts» option in the «Settings › Privacy and Security» section, then a failure or overload may occur during such synchronization. Especially if your device has a lot of contacts saved in the phone book: hundreds or thousands.

5.2. Too frequent manual searches

5.2. Manual searches in quick succession

If you try to search for other users by their phone numbers too often, Telegram may also temporarily ban you from doing so. There is no exact number of searches per unit of time that leads to such a restriction: the platform applies different limits to different accounts.

5.3. How do I get rid of the restriction?

Unfortunately, there is no exact method. Some experts are sure that if an account has received a restriction of this type, it will never be possible to get rid of it.

However, we believe that it is still worth trying:

1. Disable «Sync conatacts» option in the «Settings › Privacy and Security» section on all mobile devices where you are logged into your account.
2. Do not try to manually search for users by their phone numbers for 24 hours.
3. If after 24 hours, Telegram still does not show you other users when searching by phone numbers, take a longer break: for example, three days.
4. Continue trying, constantly increasing the interval.
5. If after some time Telegram again allows you to find users by phone number, please write about it in the comments to the post https://t.me/tginfoen/2032.

6. Other important information

1. Telegram does not have an exact number of search attempts per unit of time, after which a restriction appears. Different accounts can receive restrictions under different conditions.
2. Telegram does not have a specific time after which restrictions are lifted. Different accounts have different conditions.
3. Personal Telegram accounts are not intended for activities that require frequent additions of new contacts. Some users claim that they are not doing anything illegal or prohibited, but are simply doing business: chatting with a plethora of users and wanting to add all these users to their contact list. Algorithms see that you are suspiciously often searching for users by their numbers, and impose restrictions on you, the action is not carried out by Telegram themselves.
4. The editors of @tginfoen are not aware of any cases where Telegram support helped get rid of such restrictions.